Saint Christopher - original vintage late 1960s CUD torpedo dealership keyring ( worn condition )- collector's item

An original St. Christopher CUD torpedo Rolls Royce/Bentley dealership keyring which will have been produced in the late 1960s .

Just this one keyring to offer – when this keyring has been sold this listing will be cancelled.

St. Christopher is of course the Patron Saint of travellers and can be seen on the badge carrying a traveller safely across a river.

St. Christopher keyrings were popular items 50 years ago and were relatively common for use with cars  but very few have survived – particularly this rare torpedo example made by the famous CUD Co. ( Castles Unit Development Co. of Leicester ) who were so well known for producing their torpedo shaped keyrings particularly for Rolls Royce, Bentley & Jaguar .

This is the only CUD torpedo example which we have ever seen and is very easy to date as having been produced in the late 1960s by the style of the CUD information on the reverse of the badge .

The gold embossed dealership information still legible on the back of the leather keyfob suggests that this keyring will have been distributed by that dealership probably with a new Rolls Royce or Bentley motor car  at the time.

Rather a clever move on the part of that dealership who were agents for both Rolls Royce & Bentley at that time …………..issuing keyrings with Saint Christopher avoided the un-necessary expense of having keyrings produced for both makes of car which they supplied !

This Worthing  dealership first opened in 1959 and continued in business until the late 1960s when it was taken over.

The keyring is in good serviceable condition although the genuine leather keyfob has become rather wrinkled with use .

What appears to be a split in the leather either side of the little leather hinge which secures the badge on the face of the keyfob in the photos is actually a wrinkle – not a split .

The vitreous enamel badge is in excellent condition apart from the gold area either side of St. Christopher which could represent a golden shoreline or could be an area where the enamel has flaked off  – it is difficult to decide which so we must assume it is flaked enamel.

The keyring in the photos is the actual one which you will receive .