Buying Catholic nun artifacts and nun-related items is a wonderful hobby and a way to increase your feelings of religious connection. You might be surprised to know that real nuns have been Ebay sellers since the very beginning of Ebay! More and more religious communities are starting to sell items on Ebay, and more lay sellers are offering nun artifacts and collectibles. In part, nun artifacts are more available because convents are closing these days due to declining numbers of nuns. I spent many years as a Franciscan sister, and am happy to offer buyers information on purchasing nun items. I do occasionally sell many of my personal items, including many that were gifts, as I have few relatives interested in my nun items. The purpose of this guide is to give you a background on the items you will see on Ebay, and enough general knowledge about nuns to make an informed purchase.

Who are nuns?

Christian nuns are Roman Catholic, Anglican, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Ukranian Orthodox, and Coptic, just to name a few. With the exception of Anglican nuns, the others listed here are recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, mainly due to the efforts of Pope John Paul II and many patriarchs to promote intercommunion.

Strictly speaking, nuns are cloistered religious women who take a Vow of Enclosure, also known as a monastic vow, or a cloister vow. These nuns make a sacred vow to remain behind convent walls, enclosed and unseen in the public, for life. These communities have 2-3 extern sisters, nuns who do not take the Vow of Enclosure. Extern sisters deal with the public, run errands, and drive nuns to medical appointments.

Religious Sisters, on the other hand, are not strictly considered nuns in Church Law because they do not take a Vow of Enclosure. These Sisters are the ones you find teaching in schools, working in hospitals, parishes and many other vocations (jobs). These Sisters are properly called Sisters, and not nuns. However, Sisters are referred to as nuns in common speech in English, Spanish and other languages. Sisters do refer to themselves as nuns, and so in popular speech and thinking, using the word Nun for all sisters is correct, but not legally correct in terms of Church Law which dictates Nuns are those who are fully cloistered under vows.

How to Find Nun's Items.

"Nun" is a keyword on Ebay that designates items relating to both Sisters and Nuns. Most lay (not nun) sellers will advertise items as Nun items. This is fine, however most lay sellers will not know which items belong to Nuns or, more properly, to Sisters. There is no difference in the value of the item. However, without the name of the order to which the item belongs, it is impossible to know whether the item belonged to a Nun or a Sister. In this article, I will refer to both Nuns and Sisters and try to keep them distinct. Remember though, Nun is the keyword on Ebay, and refers to both Sisters and Nuns, and you may see the keyword Sisters used as well, so it is good to search both in Collectibles --> Religions/Spirituality--> Christianity.

Cloistered Nuns have been sellers on Ebay since the beginning. One of my favorite sellers is tradnuns You can find out whether a seller is a monastery or convent by checking out the About Me page. Nuns mostly sell priest or altar server vestments, rosaries, perhaps leather goods, and altar linens all made by the nuns in the community (the order). These items are new and not used by the nuns. Rosaries are made new, and are not blessed, and are not used by the nuns though the nuns make them. Vatican nuns make thousands of rosaries each year. These are all not blessed, you will have to obtain a blessing if you want one. Nuns also sell food items (fruitcakes, fudge, candies), and sometimes candles.

These new items are not collectible in the same way as items used BY nuns. It is almost impossible to obtain artifacts from cloistered nuns. Any consecrated item (blessed by a bishop) such as a habit, or any item worn on a habit, is not released for sale by traditional nuns or religious sisters. If you see a habit, or items from a habit, these have been obtained from some other source.

The most common nun artifacts on Ebay are obtained by sources varying in degrees of reliability. Nuns and sisters are beginning to sell convent items they are no longer using, such as candlesticks or linens. Expect to see more chapel and household items offered by sisters and nuns on Ebay. Convents are closing due to a sharp decline in nuns, which is expected to continue. If these items are sold by the nuns themselves, obviously the authenticity is no question.

Convent closings and church closings offer the opportunity for estate sales and auction house sales. You will find nun and chapel items offered by estate sellers and auction houses on Ebay. These are the most reliable sellers of nun items, after the nuns themselves. Most estate and auction houses on Ebay will list their source of the nuns items in the Item Description. If you don't see a source, ask. Sometimes the name of the order is omitted for privacy, but if you have won the item, do ask by email for more information on the item. You can ask up front if the seller will provide more information to the winner. You may be able to get the name of the order before or after the sale. Having the order name and printing out the story from your computer will enhance the collector's value of the item.

Most Nun items on Ebay are offered by lay sellers and the individual sellers. It is likely these items were obtained at auction of a closed church, or convent (rarely, but could happen), but most often found at thrift stores. Some of these items may have been part of a display at a church or museum, and the organizations are selling the items to raise money or because they no longer plan to offer the display. Items donated by nuns to churches where they served, or schools or museums, are not likely to be consecrated items, but copies of habits or photographs. There may also be a few consecrated items offered to families upon the death of a nun, but this is not generally done. Consecrated articles are kept by the convents and given to new members, and habits are reused or the cloth reworked into a different size habit. It is not likely that habits and vow items are sold by convents themselves.

How do you tell whether an artifact is a genuine nun's artifact?

The truth is, you may not be able to know and are relying on the story of the seller as to how the item was obtained. Many items are mislabeled due to public ignorance about nuns. One thing to look for is wear. Nun's items are collectibles where WEAR is good. Most other collectibles have greater value with less wear, but here more wear indicates a lifetime of use and indicates a greater likelihood of authenticity. Here is a list of items and tips for determining authenticity.

Rosaries. This is the most common nun item on Ebay. Nuns and Sisters and Priests make rosaries for sale, and these do not generally have collector value as they are easily obtained for under $20. Rosaries worn or used by nuns have collector value. Rosaries worn on habits (on belts or cords) are larger than most rosaries used by Catholics (called "pocket rosaries").

There are several kinds of Nun rosaries. Fifteen decade rosaries are likely Dominican rosaries (St. Dominic invented the rosary); Seven decade rosaries are Franciscan rosaries (also called the Franciscan Crown rosary), and regular Five decade rosaries worn on belts are common. Again, these are larger in size, and the crucifix is at least 2 inches long or larger. Genuine nun rosaries are ebony wood or olive wood from Jerusalem. Pocket rosaries made of wood are also used by nuns who don't wear a habit or a rosary with a habit. These are harder to verify as genuine, as they may or may not be ebony. Look for wear. Make sure all beads are intact, photos can be confusing. Check out this photo of a nun's style wood rosary. Can you find any missing beads?

Antique Wood Pocket Rosary.

Pectoral crosses. these crucifixes are also referred to as Vow crosses. These are the second most common nun's artifact on Ebay. However, most sellers assume these are Vow items, and this is not always the case. Nuns who wear large crucifixes may receive these when they become novices, well before they take vows. Many nuns leave before taking vows, and generally give the crosses back, but not always. Prior to Vatican II (1960s), crucifixes or the order's medals were often given at FINAL vows, not first vows. Rings were given instead at first vows. Today many orders give the medals or crucifixes at first vows, and the rings at final vows. Rings are very rare and almost impossible to obtain as most nuns are buried with their rings, but not necessarily with their rosaries or community medals.

Here is an example of a French style pectoral cross.

A pectoral cross/crucifix is difficult to distinguish from a belt rosary's crucifix. The only way to tell is by the worn spots, if there are any. The photo below shows a genuine pectoral crucifix. You can see in this photo, on the side of the crucifix, that there is wear in the back of the crucifix at the bottom.

Notice the where the wood is worn and curved in at the bottom of the cross.

This is where a nun would have touched or held her crucifix many times in her life, as this photo shows. Wear is good!

A belt rosary's crucifix may look exactly the same as the one in this photo, however it will have lots of scratches and wear on the front and back from swinging about for many years. The Pectoral cross in these photos is a common item sold on Ebay. You will see a skull and crossbones. This is a common symbol in French and French Canadian religious communities, a medieval symbol signifying the death of the flesh and a reminder of death. Nuns meditated on death as a daily meditation topic (you may find Death meditation books out there), but this practice declined greatly after the 1960s.

Breviary. This is a thick prayer book, also called the Liturgy of the Hours. These come in sets of three or larger as the volumes go all through the church year. The shortened version of the Breviary is a one volume book. The breviaries in the photos here are both the shortened version and meant to be used when alone. All brevaries have several colored ribbons to mark pages. You will want the breviary to have all the ribbons intact. Wear is good, but missing ribbons is like a missing rosary bead. All breviaries are available to ordinary people in church goods stores and breviary publishers. The story behind the breviary is important in the Item Description. How do you know a nun used it? The photo below shows two different breviaries.

Roman Breviary in Latin/English and Breviary in English.

Both of these breviaries were available to ordinary Catholics when in print. The black breviary on the left was used by priest, the brown one on the right is my personal breviary. Both were available to and used by Sisters, Priests and lay people. Cloistered nuns and monks generally use the full set of breviaries, usually three or more in the set. In short, get the story behind the breviary you see for sale on Ebay as they can be easily obtained and used by anyone. Thrift stores are a common source for sellers. Sometimes an auction house will buy items from a closed convent or monastery and obtain breviaries this way.

Habits. You will not find nuns or sisters selling consecrated habits. You may find examples made for displays in museums or churches. It is possible a habit could be given to a family of a dead sister, but highly rare and unlikely. Former nuns had to give back their habits before leaving their community. There are Church rules for dealing with consecrated habits, even worn habits, and selling is not allowed. Another common source for nun's style habits are costume shops and theater companies. These are not real habits though, but copies for the stage. Costume habits can be compared to the photos I have posted here. They generally do not have the starched portions, are often shorter, and made of cotton or polyester, and are often see through! Real nuns' habits are by and large made of wool serge if they are genuine as serge lasted forever and could be patched over and over.

One of my favorite nuns in the late 1800s. Notice the draping wimple and looser serre tete.

Another of my favorites, 20th century sister, same order, modified habit with heavy starch, considerably more uncomfortable to wear! This type of habit caused baldness after many years of wear.

Most USA orders today do not wear habits nor veils at all, but wear used clothes from thrift stores or donations. Sisters often like 1970s polyester outfits as they wash easily and last forever. Even cloistered orders have modified habits (shorter skirt, no serra tete), or cloistered nuns even wear ordinary clothes at times, obtained thrift, as it is less expensive than sewing long habits. Modern sisters tend to view habits as a style of medieval clothing that alienates them from ordinary people and interferes with their ministries. John Paul II mandated habits for sisters, and those not wearing habits generally wear a medal to identify themselves and this is okayed by Rome when vaguely referred to as "community signs of dress" in the order's constitutions (rules) approved by Rome.

So, if you do come across a genuine habit, it is NOT likely to be consecrated. If it is, the value would be very high.

Other nun collectibles including dolls and nun statues

Look for copies of actual religious orders, the order will be named in the auction, such as "Sisters of Mercy" nun doll, "Carmelite nun doll" and so forth. Order specific dolls are more collectible. Look for details like belts, unique crucifixes or rosaries, distinct shapes of the veils. Franciscan dolls will have a cord around the waist with three knots. representing the three vows of chastity/ celibacy, poverty and obedience.

Nun statues or figurines can be collectible, but the value is generally assigned by uniquenesses, such as delightful expressions on the faces, or nuns busy at some kind of work.

How to trade with Nuns, Sisters and Monks.

If you are dealing with a monastery or convent selling on ebay, a few rules of etiquette are good.

Emails. If you ask questions, do not expect your email to be answered right away. Nuns spend many hours a day in prayer, and Sisters spend many hours a day working ministry jobs and at prayer. They get lots of mail asking for help and prayers. Yours will be prioritized, but you as the buyer are not first, their life is first. Allow time for communication. Don't bombard Nuns and Sisters with emails before or after a sale. If you want to leave a note, put it in your Paypal payment page where there is a box for a note to the seller of your auction win. There is no guarantee it will be read, but at least you are not generating unnecessary email.

Allow extra time to receive your item. You will not know whether your sale occurs on a day the convent will be at prayer. Often extern Sisters are doing the shipping, and they have other transactions aside from shipping to do for the convent. Wait at least 2-3 weeks to get your item.

Expect your sale to be final. Exchanges of vestments for another size are appropriate. Otherwise, consider your sale to be a donation to the life of the nuns and the monastery/convent. If you don't like the item you purchased, consider donating it yourself somewhere else.

How to trade with Auction houses and ordinary Sellers.

Feel free to ask questions and get as much information as possible about the item you are purchasing, BEFORE bidding. Print out any information you get and keep it with the item. Expect some kind of answer, even an "I don't know." Anyone can sell a rosary and say it belonged to a Nun or Sister. Where's the proof of this claim? Ask for more photos, look for wear on the items that suggests they were used. Nuns have items for their entire lives, and so you should see some kind of wear, unless it is disclosed that the item was a gift.

Tips for Selling Nuns' Artifacts and Items

Hopefully some of the information provided above for buyers is useful also for sellers. When selecting items, remember worn spots are good! If you have an item that belonged to a nun, you need to provide any possible documentation to prove authenticity. Don't be tempted to invent stories for the item, finding an item at thrift stores is okay. I've found many items used by nuns and priests at thrift stores. If you don't know where the item came from, say so. There is a quality to nun's items and nuns and sisters themselves that only they can recognize. For instance, I can spot a nun in lay clothes 2 blocks away, but I can't tell you how that is! There is something in the stance, and in the sensitivity of the religious woman, an awareness to those around her, a lack of self-preoccupation, that is rare in the modern world, and a trained way of being as well. Because it is hard to authenticate items, you can say in your listings that an item COULD be a nun's item, and that the buyer needs to judge for themselves. If your photos are good, something about a spiritual item will sell itself to the right buyer.

Enjoy your new hobby, and I hope it provides enhancement to your spirituality, as well as adding value to your personal collections and family estate.

Respectfully submitted by,

polish$princess

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