Love these beads! As best I can tell, they are Japanese-made beads from the early 20th century. They are what we refer to as "Ojime" beads, and are used as sliders to close little pouches fastened to the belts used to close the traditional robes worn by Japanese men and women. The little metal insert is designed to prevent wear as the bead slides up and down the cord. (You can see a variety of pictures here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inr%C5%8D)

These particular beads were produced on a rather mass scale, presumably for the tourist trade. I've seen them in both clay and a type of early plastic. The eyes are mother or pearl or some other insert. Many Ojime beads are masterpieces of Japanese craftsmanship, but these beads were mass produced by comparison. If you look carefully, you'll actually see the mold marks where the two halves of the bead were stuck together. I actually kind of love them for their somewhat goofiness. And they do have some collectible value, and I suspect if you look around on Ebay, you'll see some very similar beads and get a sense of their value.

Cool bead! I'm sure others more knowledgeable than I will weigh in if I got any of the salient details wrong!

Abe @ Beadstore.com