Antique brass beam scale weight/counterweight, tax/trade hallmark ID help appreciated

[kali_is_my_copilot]

I received this possibly tax/trade/coin-related weight with a lot of small stuff off Ebay. It measures ~.5" x .5", I've sort of started to guess at the meanings of most of the marks on its face (it's a 2 pennyweight/dwt weight). The reverse is marked with a crown, a shield, and an impossibly small hallmark that strongly resembles a stylized skull.

I assume this was part of a set and wouldn't necessarily be worth anything on its own but I find the detail in the hallmarks and olde feel of the lettering very aesthetically pleasing. After several days of intermittent unfruitful google-fu my remaining options are 1. going to the library and their collectibles references or 2. giving y'all a crack at it.

 

[CRUSADER]

I agree the 2 pennyweight makes some sense. Which would make it a Bullion Weight. Problem is most Bullion Weights are either 1 sided or repeat the same on both sides. The crown over a shield would normally indicate the country that a 'coin' weight was trying to authenticate. So its a strange mix. On balance, my thoughts are COIN Weight because the XV indicates a value of a gold coin of some sorts? As there is also a fleur-de-lis present, it might be a weight for a French Gold Coin. Lastly there looks to be a crown 'P', which could be the Monarch Philippe.
I would date it to the 18th C-19th C.

 

[CRUSADER]

I'm beginning to think it's NOT British, I've looked at my books on Bullion & Coin Weights & this ones is a no show.

 

[kali_is_my_copilot]

Thanks for the help, I'm usually not bothered by questions of provenance when items I'm thinking of buying/have bought for resale are difficult to nail down but I'm pretty intensely curious about this piece. I looked at a fair number of similarly sized/tasked weights trying to figure it out and didn't really find anything close for hallmarks or even the fineness of the markings.

 

[kali_is_my_copilot]

So I did some more googling, focusing on french coin weights, and noticed that on the French coat of arms (shield, crown, fleur-de-lis), at least as it appears on the reverse of the ecu from the mid-14th to mid-17th centuries, the earliest versions of the coin have a simple crown like the one on this weight (essentially a central fleur-de-lis/point with one in profile on either side). Later iterations of the coin show an increasingly complex crown with additional points etc. I also found this: Record ID: BH-079D73 - POST MEDIEVAL coin weight - Database and this: The Dig: July 2005--Historic Jamestowne , scroll down on the second page to see the pic I'm referring to.

1. Maybe this is an ecu's-weight instead of 2 dwt, they only differ by a couple of tenths of a gram? 2. If that's the case then maybe the VI on the weight pictured at the second link is referring to Charles VI, and rather than an XV for denomination mine is referring to Charles V? 3. All of that aside, it still seems strange to me that the reverse of the weight that I have lacks the fleur-de-lis inside the shield in favor of that small mark. Any chance it's a repro or contemporary game piece for some table-top game or something? Ah well I think I'm done for now.

 

[CRUSADER]

Lets not get mix up - 'hallmark' has nothing to do with your research. That is for precious metal ONLY (which yours is not). It has nothing to do with a gaming piece either. Normally I have a good guess, but this one is a little weird.

 

[kali_is_my_copilot]

Thanks for the info, I wasn't aware that the term hallmark referred specifically to precious metals. I only brought up the reproduction/gaming piece thing because I have been so unsuccessful finding similarly marked weights from your original (very reasonable) hypothetical period (18th c-19th c) of origin, but it's painfully obvious here that internet research is vastly inferior to official references and personal experience.

 

[Bramblefind]

I think it is French too and maybe a 2 Deniers, 15 grains weight. Does it weigh about 3.3grams?

Here is an example of a French weight for a Spanish gold coin with similar markings on the one side-

Wikimoneda - Catalogue virtuel de numismatique

From 1701 to 1726 Workshop: Spain 3.2 gr. - 12 mm A / D II XV 2 deniers and 15 grains = 3.3453 gr

From what I can gather there are a number of different arms and shields that could be on a French coin weight - for different currencies and also for different French cities. I haven't been able to locate the another of the shield like yours but it may be listed in a French reference out there somewhere.

 

[kali_is_my_copilot]

It happens to weigh exactly 3.3 grams and I wasn't sure about the different units of measurement so thanks! Also the Spanish weight that you linked to is the closest match that I've seen so far, by a longshot. I'll probably take a more traditional approach tomorrow and track down some books to check against.

 

[CRUSADER]

I think it is French too and maybe a 2 Deniers, 15 grains weight. Does it weigh about 3.3grams?

Here is an example of a French weight for a Spanish gold coin with similar markings on the one side-

Wikimoneda - Catalogue virtuel de numismatique

From 1701 to 1726 Workshop: Spain 3.2 gr. - 12 mm A / D II XV 2 deniers and 15 grains = 3.3453 gr

From what I can gather there are a number of different arms and shields that could be on a French coin weight - for different currencies and also for different French cities. I haven't been able to locate the another of the shield like yours but it may be listed in a French reference out there somewhere.

Very close, fits with my best guess of 18th C French Coin Weight.