Chastity belts are rare; many collectors are eager to possess a genuine one. Sir James Mann, Master of the Armouries at the Tower of London, managed to purchase one shortly before his death in 1962. It cost him around £350 and appeared to date from the early seventeenth century.

However, experts at the Tower have decided that it is a fake and sent it for sale at Christie's in March 1974. A spokesman declared that "It does not seem strong enough for its purpose."