Images(3)

Boxed Set of Gold Coin Scales & Weights

Date1632-1649

Struck by Tower of London Mint

Engraver Nicholas Briot

OriginEngland

MediumWood, brass, iron/steel, and string

DimensionsBox: OL: 6 1/8” OD: 2 1/4” OH: 1 1/16” Balance OL: 5 3/16” OH: 2 5/8” Pans: Diameter: 1 3/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Lasser Numismatics Fund

Object number2015-345,A-K

Description2015-345,A - balance
2015-345,B-J - weights
2015-345-K - wooden box

Boxed set of gold scales including an iron/steel balance supporting two string-hung brass pans with incised concentric circles, and eight brass weights struck in imitative suggestion of the coins they counterbalance (the ninth weight is of punched sheet brass).

Its ovoid wooden box is decorated with punched geometric designs and crowned Tudor roses, has iron wire hinges, and is closed by a pair of brass hooks (now detached). A sliding panel under the lid reveals a compartment cut with murices for the seven smallest weights. Three carved thumb catches are carved into the sliding panel, and the entirety of the underside of the lid is decorated with punch work. A now-illegible inscription appears on the outside of the lid, with a listing of the weights, by denomination, inked on the inside. The main body of the box is cut with a complicated mortice for the scales and pain, in addition to the two largest weights.

Missing from the iron balance is the pendant drop at center. String tassels are at the ends of the beam and at the hand hold.

Weights included in the set are for the following gold coins;

Ryal; 22 shillings (10.01 grams)
Unite; 20 shillings (9.07 grams)
1/2 Ryal; 11 shillings (4.59 grams)
1/2 Unite; 10 shillings (4.15 grams)
1/2 Angel; 5 shillings 6 pence (2.27 grams)
Crown; 5 shillings (2.25 grams)
Scottish 1/2 Sword & Scepter; 4 shillings 4 1/2 pence (1.99 grams)
1/4 Angel; 2 shillings 9 pence (1.14 grams)
Adjustment weight; 10 pence (.35 grams)

Label TextAt the beginning of the American colonial period, the value of a gold or silver coin depended on the amount of precious metal it contained, as determined by weight. In England, the weight of these coins had been regulated for centuries, and the same was true for the official brass weights produced to balance the coins against. Until the reign of Charles I (1625-1649), these coin weights were usually square in shape.

In order to correct problems with the weights then in use throughout the British Isles, the King issued a proclamation on December 20, 1632. This decree ordered that from then on, all coin weights be round in shape, of the correct weight, and carry markings to show what coin they corresponded to the weight of. Those included in this set were approved by Nicholas Briot, the Master Engraver at the Tower of London Mint, and carry his "B" mark. Each round weight bears its gold coin equivalent in shillings on one side, and either the archangel St. Michael, the bust of the King, or a thistle on the other. While this set was produced during the reign of Charles I, the heaviest weight carries the bust of James I, since it corresponds to a still-current coin authorized during his reign. While it is very likely that the eight round weights included in this set were struck at the Tower of London, the box and balance were commercial products.

Preserved in extremely good condition and with all of its original components, this set is a very rare survival from the 1630s or 1640s.
MarkingsThe eight struck weights all bear the "B" of Nicholas Briot, Chief Engraver of the Royal Mint at the Tower of London.
ProvenanceJaap Visser collection, sold September 9, 1985.