Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a small purse.

c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew.
1725		New Canting Dict.

2. in pl., goods sold to a gullible young person at vastly inflated prices and on credit.

1608		Dekker Lanthorne and Candle-Light Ch. 4: The commodities that are taken vp are cald Purse-nets. The Cittizen that selles them is the Ferret.
1609		Dekker Gul’s Horne-Booke 8: He shall strait waies be [...] set upon (as it were, by free-booters) and tane in his own purse-nets by fencers and cony-catchers.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Pursenets, goods taken upon Trust by young Unthrifts at treble the Value; also a little Purse.
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Pursenets. Goods taken up at thrice their value, by young spendthrifts upon trust.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1785].
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue [as cit. 1785].