How’s everyone doing? Hope summer’s treating you well. London has been burning hot – with a bit of drizzle here and there – but it’s mostly been around 30 degrees, which has made me prefer staying inside with the aircon on, chilling and eating ice cream.
Recently, I added a new piece to my collection: the Zippy Coin Purse. The reason behind this purchase is that I’ve started to need a coin pouch after moving to an area with lots of independently owned Asian supermarkets and restaurants. Most of them accept cards, but many offer a small discount for cash payments or set a minimum spend for card use (often around £10). As I’ve settled in more, I’ve found myself needing to carry cash more often. Of course, a small pouch – or even a plastic bag – would do the job, but every time I pulled out a plastic bag full of coins in front of the cashier, I thought, “I want a proper purse.” That feeling stuck around for over a month, so I finally made up my mind.
Back in May, I wrote an article titled Top 5 Compact Wallets from Louis Vuitton, featuring some popular fan-favourite small wallets and purses. There are actually lots of SLGs (Small Leather Goods) that can be used as coin pouches—they might be sold as key pouches or business card holders, but I wanted a proper coin pouch.
Why does the Zippy Coin Purse make sense?
As the name suggests, the Zippy Coin Purse has a zipper that goes all the way around the body. It’s a proper purse that lets you carry coins without worrying about them falling out or spilling everywhere like they might with a snap closure.
Like other Louis Vuitton products, the zipper is sturdy and incredibly smooth – I just love the sound and feel of it (you’ve probably noticed my obsession with the smooth zipper in my How to Tell If a Louis Vuitton Bag is Real – 5 Easy Ways article).
It has several card pockets and plenty of space for coins, notes, and receipts. The leather is quite structured, so I don’t think it can hold anything bulky like a bunch of keys (maybe just one). Materials like Empreinte tend to soften over time, so they might become more flexible as they age.
Why Epi Black?
I’ve had my eye on Epi leather for a while. So far, my collection has only included Monogram items (because why not? It’s the brand’s signature look): a Key Holder, Mini Pochette, and Neverfull. I always carry the Key Holder, and sometimes use the Mini Pochette as a catch-all, so I felt that adding a Monogram Coin Purse might be a bit too much. I also wanted something black.
Although I’d never seen the Epi Black Coin Purse in person, I wasn’t disappointed when it arrived—it felt exactly how I hoped it would. I don’t regret buying it, even though I was torn between the Monogram Business Card Holder and this Coin Purse. I knew the card holder could carry coins too, and I liked its minimalistic design with no exterior metal parts. Price-wise, the Monogram Business Card Holder (Enveloppe Carte de Visite) is £230, the Taiga Leather version is £275 (still fairly reasonable, but the pattern felt a bit too plain or masculine for me), the Monogram Coin Purse is £360, and the Epi Zippy Coin Purse is £395. For this shape, I prefer the classic Epi leather pattern over Monogram—but of course, it comes down to personal taste.
Any Signs of Wear and Tear?
Well, I’ve only had it for a month, so I can’t say much about its durability yet, but Epi is known to be one of Louis Vuitton’s strongest materials – almost as durable as Monogram canvas. Because of the textured pattern, it’s quite hard to see scratches. Also, the leather has a glazing finish, which may eventually wear off like it does on other leather products, but I suspect it’ll be less noticeable compared to something like the Business Card Holder. That one you have to open fully to access the inside, while a coin purse doesn’t open that wide.
So those are my first impressions of the Epi Zippy Coin Purse. Do you have one? What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
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