Posted 1 year ago
hotairfan
(388 items)
This is a coin scale to identify whether a Sovereign or a half Sovereign is a counterfeit or bonified English Sovereign.
It was manufactured in 1848 by the Harrison Mfg. Co to identify bogus coins.
How it works is: you lay the Sovereign in the pocket (half Sovereign in the smaller pocket), It should fit comfortably in the pocket. The coin should balance. If too heavy or too light to balance the coin, it is counterfeit. The coin should also slip into the slot in the pocket to check on the thickness of the coin. If it doesn't fit, its counterfeit.
Most common people had no deed for this scale, because they never came into contact with a Sovereign. because Sovereigns were made of 22 caret gold and commoners only made about 6 pennies a week. Only the wealthy used this device.
hotairfan, Very cool. :-)
A coin scale: fascinating.
That's a really interesting piece. Thanks for sharing.