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Giveaway British weight

koincollectkoincollect Posts: 446 ✭✭✭
in World & Ancient Coins Forum
I do not know anything about this and bought since it looked cool. Please reply to this thread to enter the giveaway.

Please also let me know more about this weight.

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Random number generator gives this to SaorAlba. Please PM me your mailing address.

Comments

  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,897 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Very cool. Mid-19th century, would be my guess. Definitely Victorian. It has an 1860s-1870s feel to it for me, judging by the lettering.

    An apothecary's weight was, of course, used on a balance scale, and one dram was a unit of weight. You'd put that little token on one side of the scale, and when you balanced it with whatever other stuff was on the opposite side, you had one dram weight of stuff there.

    Look in my current signature line collage. See that little square copper thing, with the curious symbol on it? It's more stylized, but you can see it is the same symbol as on your piece, there.

    image

    I found it while metal detecting on a circa 1830s site, here in Georgia. A friend found an 1837 large cent nearby. I had a hunch the symbol on that little square thing stood for one dram, and further research bore this out- it too is a one-dram weight for an apothecary's balance scale. It seems odd, considering how rural the site I found it on was, and still is (the shot of trees to the left of that picture is of the same site). It was truly in the middle of nowhere. This area was the southeastern frontier of the USA around that time, until Florida became a state. I picture some frontier doctor or medicine woman using a scale with that weight (and its missing counterparts, for these were usually part of a set, with different weights, I believe).


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  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,897 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hello, people?

    KC is offering a giveaway here, and a cool one at that... no takers at all?

    Fine. I'm in. The rest of y'all can go away, now. image

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  • BailathaclBailathacl Posts: 1,042 ✭✭✭
    I'm most certainly in, nice item image Thanks for the chance.
    "The Internet? Is that thing still around??" - Homer Simpson
  • MuygrandeosoMuygrandeoso Posts: 299 ✭
    Yes please!

    Successful BST transactions with:CollectorsCoins, farthing, Filacoins, LordMarcovan, Duki, Spoon, Jinx86, ubercollector, hammered54
    LochNess and ProfHaroldHill

  • TheNoostTheNoost Posts: 144
    Put me down for a chance please. Apothecary is a word I like alot. (I'm a weirdo like that.) Thanks for the chance!
  • goossengoossen Posts: 492 ✭✭
    Count me in! image
    My coins with pictures: http://www.paraguaycoins.com/
  • SaorAlbaSaorAlba Posts: 7,593 ✭✭✭✭✭
    There were also smaller weights called scruples which were more for pills etc. I found one in a dealer's junk box several years ago. They are very fascinating and rather enigmatic pieces.
    Tir nam beann, nan gleann, s'nan gaisgeach ~ Saorstat Albanaich a nis!
  • koincollectkoincollect Posts: 446 ✭✭✭
    ttt
    I will pick the winner today 9pm PST.
  • ProofArtworkonCircsProofArtworkonCircs Posts: 4,223 ✭
    I am just beating the deadline.
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