Unexpected Find: King George III Trade Weight

[paleomaxx]

Got back to the site I tried a week ago but was thwarted by snow. By this week the snow had melted, but some sections of ground were still frozen so most of these finds were from the slope leading down from the cellar hole to a small stream. I'm fairly sure this site has never been hunted before and I turned up a nice variety of relics. Most were the standard mid-1800's finds, but one was quite surprising:



The markings weren't visible when I pulled it out of the ground so I didn't take a field photo, but as soon as I started cleaning it I spotted the indentations and immediately knew what it was. The bronze held up very well in the ground so all four marks are clear. The "G" with the crown at the 3 o'clock position (relative to the other marks) indicates it's from the reign of King George III, while the sword indicates London. It has the ewer for the founder's mark and the "A" for avoirdupois, the system of weights. Definitely not something I expected to find and my favorite relic of 2019 so far. My guess is the chip in the side is why it was discarded since it wouldn't have been of the correct weight anymore.

The site produced a huge number of buttons, but only a few tombacs and no dandies or military buttons. One tombac does have a nice etched floral pattern and I always love finding decorated tombacs:



It was a record-breaking day as far as fancy brass buckles were concerned. Usually I'm lucky to find 1-2 of these at a site, but this one had four complete and one partial and I'm not even done hunting here!



There was another surprise in the form of a small brass-wrapped bottle:



I think it's a medicine or perfume bottle, but I've never seen one like it. The bottle material is earthenware and it looks like the cap part broke off. I found it on the surface below the leaves so at least I know I didn't do that. The brass itself is etched or stamped all around with a pretty pattern, but no writing that I've been able to find. Very cool and another first.

Surprisingly only one coin so far; a toasty 1858 flying eagle cent.



I'm sure there are more given how many relics I dug, but it's odd that I didn't find some mixed in with all the lost buttons. I did find another coin on a ridge a few hundred feet away; only my second half-cent ever:



The date is at least legible, 1828, and the reverse is clear. Not in great shape, but I'll take it!

I'll be going back to this site soon and also looking for another homesite that's supposedly nearby. I have high hopes for some older coppers and if I'm really lucky some Spanish silver!

 

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[lairmo]

Awesome stuff!!!

 

[WG2020]

Great hunt Palomaxx. I really like the trade weight. I found one this weekend in a little field right on the edge of a residential area- was a little surprised to find it. The half cent is also a great find - hopefully I will add one to my collection one of these days. Guess it would help to actually do some detecting in the US vice Germany though I currently have a coin soaking in distilled water that resembles a flowing hair large cent. I am still trying to eke out a little more details on the coin. Though if it is a US large cent, it will be a mystery on how it ended up in a field outside a small German town. Good luck with your hunts. Walt

 

[paleomaxx]

Great hunt Palomaxx. I really like the trade weight. I found one this weekend in a little field right on the edge of a residential area- was a little surprised to find it. The half cent is also a great find - hopefully I will add one to my collection one of these days. Guess it would help to actually do some detecting in the US vice Germany though I currently have a coin soaking in distilled water that resembles a flowing hair large cent. I am still trying to eke out a little more details on the coin. Though if it is a US large cent, it will be a mystery on how it ended up in a field outside a small German town. Good luck with your hunts. Walt

A flowing hair cent is a great find no matter what the condition! Too bad the pure copper planchettes they were made from don't hold up well in the ground. It should have edge lettering which may still be visible even if it's very corroded and could confirm that it's a large cent versus another type of copper. I would love to detect fields in Germany someday; you guys have thousands of years more history that could turn up under your coil!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

I consider that a killer hunt!

 

[Aureus]

Great relic! Those trade weights are a pretty uncommon find. Congratulations!

 

[Steve in PA]

Is there a name stamped on the base of the brass skin around that bottle? Possibly S. Barker?
Looks a little like the inkwell to a field writing kit, although most I have seen are round.

 

[paleomaxx]

Is there a name stamped on the base of the brass skin around that bottle? Possibly S. Barker?
Looks a little like the inkwell to a field writing kit, although most I have seen are round.

That would be super cool, and the original shape was oval based on the bottom plate piece, they just went with an odd shaped bottle possibly as an early form of slack-fill. The ground there was pretty caustic so the brass is paper thin, but I think you're right; there are very faint letters stamped into the bottom plate:



I don't think it's Barker though. Do you know any other maker names?

 

[Inspector]

Great hunt, really nice trade weight, nice button assortment, the ornate is cool, super looking buckles & nice FE & half cent, fantastic saves & BOL on your future hunts there

 

[A2coins]

Nice trade weight. Do you want to trade?

 

[Steve in PA]

That would be super cool, and the original shape was oval based on the bottom plate piece, they just went with an odd shaped bottle possibly as an early form of slack-fill. The ground there was pretty caustic so the brass is paper thin, but I think you're right; there are very faint letters stamped into the bottom plate:

View attachment 1698417

I don't think it's Barker though. Do you know any other maker names?

i have seen several S. Barker's, mostly just the bottom plate. It seems I did see another name once, but I can't remember what it was. Mine has a crude glass bottle inside the brass skin and dates to the French & Indian War period, but they were used during the Revolution and probably beyond.

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

That is a heck of a good hunt. The trade weight is really unique. The FE and Half Cent are 2 coins that have eluded my coil. Lots of buttons and buckles to keep you busy digging there as well. The brass covered earthenware bottle is an early version of my Yeti coffee mug... Huge congrats!

 

[Relicific]

That trade weight is a cool relic

 

[Kray Gelder]

Awesome hunt! Congrats.

 

[sataro]

Congrats on some great finds!

 

[mikefromIllinois]

Very nice variety of finds. Congrats.

 

[HIGHSTRUNG]

Outstanding finds! Congrats!

 

[Digger RJ]

Very Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[xcopperstax]

That's an outstanding hunt! Congrats on all of it. I have to say the trade weight is really nice and the half cent is pretty nice considering how infrequently they show up!

 

[Whyme]

Awesome finds! Congrats! Love those buttons and buckles. The coins are awesome.