Small, at 2 ½” length, these small boxes are usually identified as snuff boxes, though they served a number of purposes. Some contained a flint, steel and tinder (wood shavings or mashed pine cone). See Collector’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Revolutionary War, Neumann, p.246 #1 for an example identified as a snuff box. This one contains some small seeds, probably used for seasoning food. It is made so precisely that it is virtually air tight and could have been used for any of a number of things including medications.
