MODERN WEIGHT

Cast copper alloy trade weight, circular in plan with an internal recessed face with an incuse stamp of the Duchy of Cornwall coat of arms at 12 o'clock, over an incised central circle. The Duchy coat of arms consists of a triangular shield with 15 circular discs or 'bezants' in five rows, with 5 bezants at the top and 1 at the bottom, which supposedly derives from the Byzantine gold coins used to release the Duke of Cornwall from the Saracens during the Crusades. The Duchy stamp would have been used to identify the weight when it was used locally, in the provinces. The object weighs 12 g which is a little less than half an ounce, so allowing for the surface corrosion, it would have weighed a little more originally.