Wood ID?

[Bob Vaughan]

looks to me like walnut on my monitor

I tend to second this.  A  photograph can only go so far in identification.  Walnut lightens with age, cherry darkens.  After a few decades they can have the same tone.
What looks to be more open pores on the right hand sides makes me doubt cherry although that was my first impression.

Smoothing off a portion with a hand plane and getting a close-up of the grain structure may be more helpful.

Whatever it is, it was worth saving as a precious piece of figured wood.  Too bad the previous owner didn't get a chance to use it.

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

I don't think it's cherry. I'll get a fresh shaving off of it and present it. I'm not *terribly* worried about knowing what kind of wood it is, but when I make and present a box as a gift I like to be able to tell the recipient what it's made from.