Pinchbeck Mourning Brooch

[DozyDora]

Not sure whether this is the right section to discuss this.

I have recently inherited a pinchbeck mourning brooch, with a lock of hair fixed with a band with 3 seed pearls, with an inscription on the back which reads:

"AS
December 22nd 1826
Aged 58"

I have worked out that the lock of hair must have belonged to Ann Stocker (nee Diggins) who was born on 23 May 1768 and died on the date on the brooch - 22nd December 1826.  She was my 3rd great grandmother.  Who the actual brooch belonged to, I don't know but my mother inherited it from her paternal grandmother.  Ann comes from Alresford and the brooch could have belonged to her mother or a sister.  The records I have of the Stocker family have all been given to me and there were no records when Ann was born.

I know pinchbeck is not valuable but, given its age, would this brooch carry any value?  I don't want to sell it, I am just interested to know.

Dora