Featured Iron Scale Weight; Dual, Lead Seal, 500G: Odd Symbol

Discussion in 'Tools' started by wlwhittier, May 3, 2026.

  1. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    It's ~1 5/8" diameter, ~1 13/16" high to the shoulder.The 'seal', which is unmarked, may just be a plug; it doesn't rattle like it would if it had a shot fill. The markings suggest it was designed for use as a direct 500G, or as a 10X (5KG) through some multiplier linkage. Its actual weight is 500.4 grams; if used for trade at 10 pounds, it would give an extra ~1 pound, as 5KG is 11.023 pounds.
    My question has to do with the symbol indicating pounds; I've never seen that mark, an' wonder when an' where it was in common use, which may indicate the age of this chunk of iron. Thanks for lookin'!

    P1460311.jpeg P1460312.jpeg P1460313.jpeg P1460310.jpeg P1460309.jpeg P1460315.jpeg P1460314.jpeg
     
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  2. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Moderator Moderator

    Very odd.
    The lead calibration seal has been tampered with, it would have been flush with the surface and stamped.
    500g grams is 0.5 kg
    5kg might mean 10 Pfund in German PF stamped in old German script
     
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  3. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    It occurs to me that perhaps at one time an (English?) pound was equal to 500G...as in, among other possibilities, Pound Sterling?
     
  4. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Moderator Moderator

    500g is 1.1 lbs.
    Pound Sterling is currency (the worlds oldest currency still in use)
     
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  5. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Moderator Moderator

    Before Europe went metric.

    Germany.... Ein Pfund
    France...... Une livre
    Netherlands... Pond
     
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  6. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    That seal is in fact a formed plug; a closed end cylinder ~0.200" deep with an ~1/8" flange that has about 120 degrees of its circumference missing. I'm loath to monkey with it, much as I'd like to see what may lie beneath.
     
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  7. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    What was the actual weight of the 'pound' in Pound Sterling? I believe silver, in Troy measure, is 12 Troy ounces, not 16, as in Avoirdupois.
     
  8. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Moderator Moderator

    All scale weights over here had lead seals, sometimes in the base.
    Someone has been on the fiddle and tampered with it.

    Google
    Lead seals and plugs in scale weights are used to secure, verify, and calibrate weighing devices, a practice dating back to the 19th century. They serve as tamper-evident marks of inspection (often with crown stamps) and allow for adjustment (adding/removing lead) to ensure accuracy. Common types include lead plugs in the base of brass/iron weights and crimp wire seals
     
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  9. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Moderator Moderator

    Two different things.
    A Pound lbs weight was 16 ounces and still is.
    A Pound Sterling £1 was / is a currency coin, the first being a Gold Sovereign from the 15th century.
    Pound also became banknotes until the intoduction of the 1983 £1 coin
     
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  10. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Yes, I have examples of the plug type, with marks. I understand the concept. First, the weight is only 0.4 Grams off...an' over, at that. What would be the purpose of tampering so obviously, an' in that direction, Davey?
     
  11. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    So there is not/was not any equivalency between the currency, whether coin or banknote, an' an actual pound of sterling by whatever weight?
     
  12. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Moderator Moderator

    No.
     
  13. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Moderator Moderator

    Imagine the weight on a scale balance and you are selling corn or sugar to a customer, the customer sees it balance and thinks they are getting the amount displayed, when infact they are getting less as the lead has been removed.
    100 customers less the amount of lead taken away means the seller gains.
     
  14. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    That is actually metric and still used, 1 pond or Pfund equals 500 grams, half a kilo.

    The term Pound Sterling comes from the Medieval Dutch "pond oosterling", pound easterner, meaning a German pound. Until the Austrian Maria Theresia coins, German silver coins were more reliable than any other coin in Europe, so a silver pond oosterling was the best pond/pound.
    The Dutch and Frisians traded with Britain and paid with the reliable pond oosterling. The Brits thought the double o was a double 0, and deleted what they thought were zeros, and the term pound sterling was born.
    Nowadays it is written with capitals, Pound Sterling, even though the S was not the first letter when first introduced.;)
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2026
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  15. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Moderator Moderator

    That is one theory.

    Another theory is.

    The origin of the word sterling itself is unclear. It first appears in the 11th and 12th centuries, suggesting that it was coined to describe the new, heavier penny introduced by the Normans According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the most plausible theory is that it represents Old English Steorling, meaning "coin with a star" (a pair of stars having appeared on certain Norman pennies)

    Screenshot 2026-05-04 113800.png

    Pound Sterling has nothing to do with weights and measures on 19th century weights.

    The lbs abbreviation symbol came from the the letter L derived from medieval Latin the Roman word Libra, the Roman Pound weight.

    The £sd or LSD abbreviation for Pounds Shillings and Pence referred to the Roman libra, Solidus and Denarius
     
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  16. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    WOW! There is a whole lot to like in both of your comments...Thanks! I am very much enlightened an' far better informed, an' most grateful for it all!
     
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