When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
\"Milagros\" are requests for intercession from Saints, that were nailed to the wall at churches and cathedrals throughout South America. They were especially popular in the 1920s through the 1950\'s. Sadly, they have also been reproduced. The reproductions were never used as intended - a a request for intercession, as a focus for prayer. They were made to get gullible folks to buy them for charm bracelets. They are new, and look new.
In the days when Milagros were in heavy use, artisans would gather outside the churches and make whichever type you needed. The milagro would reflect the intercession you were looking for - stomach problems were a picture of a stomach. This one is most likely a prayer for pregnancy, in some fashion. Wanted, and ... unwanted. The milagros for the most part were plain. The artisan would stamp the blank pieces of metal with the design you wanted, and then punch a hole in the top so it could be nailed to the wall. Or, it was given to the recipient who made the hole with the nail. They were almost always created out of a soft metal so they could be easily stamped and used.
Many of the people with lots of money had milagros (miracles) made that were intricate and expensive. All wound up on the wall. In the 1990s, Peru and other churches in South America needed money (ok, when did they not), AND the wall space, so they cleared swaths of the milagros, and they were sold to raise money.
I bought a fair amount of them from Peru, before they became so popular, and so reproduced. A lot were created for the Senior De Los Milagros festival that takes place in Peru each year in October.
Anyway, the common folk couldn\'t afford silver, so they had ones made from tin. I have a group of those for sale in another listing. They are sweet, and imbued with the power of prayers.
This one is the last \"silver\" one that I have. I don\'t know how much silver it actually has in it, if any, but it was purchased by the faithful as silver, so silver it shall be!
It is a lovely piece, and could be worn, if you like, by added a ring to it, or wrap a cord around it. I am not terribly crafty, but I am sure someone could make a way to display this lovely little piece.
It is quite old, and guaranteed authentic.
