Fake detector

[Figleaf]

Some of you may remember the fake detector andyg shared around at a WoC meeting. Here is a mechanical version. The text at left on the handle is NEDERL(andsche).SCHAAL - Dutch (coin) scales. On the other side (not visible in the picture) is H.D.L. ELLINCKHUYSEN / ROTTERDAM, the name of the inventor, who deposited his invention in 1829. The scales are inscribed 10 GULDEN, 25 CENTS and 5 GULDEN.

The objective of this handy little device was not just to weigh the coins, but to be a check on weight, thickness and diameter at the same time. In the case of the 5 and 10 gulden, the process is easy to understand: they were the highest denominations in circulation. The 25 cents is slightly more complicated. At the time, it was easy to spend a silvered 1 cent coin for 25 cent: the design was the same and the diameter of the cent was only 1 mm more than the 25 cent piece. The major difference was the denomination left of the shield, which was easily overlooked. With this device, a fraudulent silvered cent would not fit in the scale for the 25 cent. If the fraudster would have filed off the rim, the scale would have balanced even less.

Do you have a silvered over cent?

Peter

[FosseWay]

I have a very similar-looking brass device for checking the weight of sovereigns and half-sovereigns.

[Figleaf]

Can you post a picture? Is it dated or dateable?

Peter

[FosseWay]

See below. As you can see, either the device has become less accurate with time or I have a heavier-than-usual sovereign.

I see no date on the device. On the counterweight there is a crown and the word BUSH'D. On the centre of the arm is HARRISON. In the depression for the full sovereign (hidden by the coin) are the words SOVEREIGN (top) and RRANTE (bottom), which I presume should read WARRANTED but some of the letters have not been punched sufficiently. In the tray for the half-sovereign is SOVEREIGN again round the top and ½ at the bottom. There are no letters or marks on the underside.

[Figleaf]

Thank you. A bit of oil on the axle may help the device to find the equilibrium

BTW, are you sure of the apostrophe? It looks like BUSHED on the picture, which means very tired, exhausted. Together with the crown, it may explain why your coin seems overweight also.

Peter

[FosseWay]

No, it definitely has an apostrophe and not an E.

A "bush", as well as being a small tree-like plant, is a metal lining for a round hole through which a rotating axle passes. Something that is "bushed" is fitted with such a lining - I presume in this case it refers to the pivot hole, though I doubt there is an axle that passes all the way through. Rather there will be two protuberances that project some way into the hole but do not meet.

A Google search on "Harrison sovereign scales" yields a large number of eBay and other online commerce hits showing the same device. Many of them describe the item as "early 19th century" (without motivating that statement, mind you). The typography of "BUSH'D" with the apostrophe is indicative of the 18th century and the early (Regency) period of the 19th; past tenses and past participles that are pronounced as a simple /t/ or /d/ connected to the foregoing syllable were routinely spelt with an apostrophe rather than an E, with the E reserved for those where the ending is pronounced as a syllable in its own right (compare "bushed" /busht/ with "coated" /coatid/). The modern standard of using -ed regardless of the pronunciation gained ground from 1800 onwards, and now if we want to mark an extra syllable where one would not normally be expected, we have to do so explicitly (e.g. "learnèd").

Obviously because this device measures sovereigns it cannot date from before 1816. I suspect it dates from soon thereafter, precisely because of the apostrophe.

[malj1]

Here is my one this too reads "BUSH'D" although a different maker, this time SMITH

[FosseWay]

Malcolm's has writing on the base plate underneath the counterweight, which mine doesn't. I think it probably just repeats SOVEREIGN WARRANTED though, from what I can see in the picture.

[malj1]

Yes, SOVEREIGN WARRANTED with PATENT centrally in between. ...and it does weigh both the sovereign and half correctly.

[brandm24]

This particular scale, patented by John Allender of New London, Connecticut ,was an accurate and inexpensive way of weighing gold coins to check for authenticity. While Allender patented the design, it was manufactured by a New London tool maker named Increase Wilson. This scale dates back to about 1851-1853. Wilson also manufactured other types of scales up until at least 1855.

The simplicity of Allender's design made it inexpensive to manufacture. As a result, the cost was only $1.50 per unit, much cheaper than the more elaborate models offered by other companies. It was packaged in a small cardboard box and included instructions for it's use.

Bruce

Images courtesy of eBay seller brass_jungle_marketplace.

[malj1]

Here is a British example for sovereign and half sovereign.

[brandm24]

The same look and function as Allender's scale. As other denominations were added (a $3 gold piece in 1854) Wilson added appropriate size cups to accomodate the new coins.

Do you know anything about the manufacturer? That would be someone named Smith?

Bruce

[FosseWay]

There are several of these, mostly British, illustrated in this thread. The British ones are considerably simpler than yours because in practice there were only two denominations of gold coin in use between 1816 (when the sovereign series was started) and 1918 (when gold coins in practice disappeared). £2 and £5 coins were minted from time to time but, like the similarly sized silver 5 shilling coin, were not widely used.

[brandm24]

Thanks for mentioning the WoC thread. I'm going to look more into these scales in general...they're very interesting.

Bruce

[brandm24]

Looks like Harrison was a large manufacturer of these scales. Here's some information from the Worthpoint auction site.
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/harrison-brass-sovereign-coin-rocker-balance

Bruce