2. Lovelorn seamen would collect Sailor’s Valentines in the Caribbean in the 19th century – and now they sell for big money
Today, collectors will pay good money for ‘Sailor’s Valentines‘. These unique gifts were hugely popular from around 1830 to 1890 but quickly fell out of favor. Adorned with shells and intricately decorates, the small wooden were traditionally picked up for their sweethearts when they went ashore in the Caribbean. Barbados was a particularly popular place for picking up such a trinket. Traditionally, the local women made them from shells imported from Indonesia, selling them only to love-struck American sailors for a healthy profit.
