POST MEDIEVAL COIN WEIGHT

1604

Post Medieval square copper alloy double sided coin weight. It is very worn but on the obverse appears to be a three quarter lengh portrait of James I with the legend: I R [BRIT]. On the reverse is XXIIs (for 22 shillings) under a crown, possibly with a crowned I stamped upper left. This is a British made weight for an gold Unite produced under James I (Withers and Withers 1995:25). It is 16.7 by 17.2mm and 4.6mm thick; it weighs 9.02 grams, 138.7 grains. A full weight Unite of the period 1604-1619 weighed 155 grains; coin weights are typically made slightly light and lose more weight through corrosion. Although unites were only produced for a short period they continued to circulate longer, however after 1632 round weights were more common (ibid:26).