Medium blue translucent seed beads, 3mm slightly irregular on 27-inch strands
These are quite regular, but you can tell they are older by their non-standard size, the flattened end of the beads - either from wear, or because the were drawn and cut rather then wound beads, and finally and most important the semi-matte patina of age that's hard to fake - and who would bother for such inexpensive beads?
Bought in Abidjan in the early 1970s. That's when most strands were still 30 inches long. The standard was from a man's thumb to his elbow. The prices haven't rising that much, over the decades, but the typical strand length has shrunk by more than 30%.
The patina and the slightly larger size of seed beads have made them my favorites for using in my trade bead jewelry. If I can't find the old seed beads my second choices are new ones that have been made matte.
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