Part of a 17th century apothecary weight???

[Bill D. (VA)]

This lead item was found at a very early site that was occupied only during the mid-to-late 1600s, and was where I recovered the Lord Baltimore sixpence (1659) two years ago. This piece looks to be a 1/4 cut from the original item, and has a large "D" on one side and other markings on the other including what looks like lettering around the perimeter. There's a similar item I found on the UKDFD finds website, and it was described as of medieval origin and may have been part of an apothecary weight (see the last pic below). Or maybe a trade token. Anyone ideas on this one?

 

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[JamieD]

Hi,

I think it's a cut piece from a lead token. There are lots of designs but initials and a decorated border like in your piece, are common.

Link here to a similar one https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/780587

Jamie

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Hi,

I think it's a cut piece from a lead token. There are lots of designs but initials and a decorated border like in your piece, are common.

Link here to a similar one https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/780587
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Thanks for your input Jamie. The reason I thought it might be an apothecary weight is that it appears to be too big for a token. My piece looks like a quarter cut from a larger, round lead disk and each of the straight edges measures 22 or 23mm. That would mean that it came from something that was about 45mm in diameter which is probably too big to be a token. Also, the item shown in my last pic has similar designs but is much smaller and has a square shape making it more likely to be a weight of some kind. So although my find would appear to be a token based on its design, it just may be too big for that. By the way, here's another lead disk that came from the same site (with the "H" on it), and I know for a fact this is a 17th C token as I found one identical to it online.

 

[JamieD]

The size is unusual but doesn't necessarily rule out a token, there's one of 47mm diameter on the UK portable antiquity scheme database.