Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
58.47 |
Object Name |
Weight, Mint |
Title |
North German Mint Weights |
Artist |
Unknown |
Place of Origin |
Northern Germany |
Date |
before 1817 |
Description |
Small leather-covered wooden box containing ten brass weights. Each weight is inscribed with letters and numbers. A slide covers a collection of ten (originally twelve) smaller silver weights, the largest of which is marked 128. Paper label on front of box labeled "German weights for coins". |
Label |
From its inception, the APS collected currency weights and models from around the world so members could determine what a German scientist meant by one "gran," or what a Danish correspondent called a "loth." These particular weights range from the substantial brass Mark of Cologne, subdivided into 65536 gran or 16 loths, to tiny silver gran weights. The Mark of Cologne was the common standard for gold and silver weights in many German states and in Denmark into the 19th century. |
Material |
Weights: brass or copper alloy (cast); Box: wood and leather |
Dimensions |
H-2.25 W-6 D-3.625 inches |
Dimension Details |
Open depth: 7.5 |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society. Gift of John Vaughan, 1817. |
Search Terms |
19th century nineteenth century currency measurement |