Assay Weight, 3 dwt

oldsmithfield.com_061.3DWT.jpg

Dublin Core

Title

Assay Weight, 3 dwt

Identifier

Item Sm.305

Description

Brass assay standard 'Penny Weight'.
Lozenge shape (retangular with clipped corners).
Embossed with the letters: '3 DWTS.'

Creator

n.c.

Subject

Measurement--Weight--Gold weight;
Gold--Assaying;
Weights and measures;
Imperial measurements;
Balances & scales;
Engineering, Science & Measurement.

Date

c.1800s

Source

Old Smithfield township.

This weight would have been one of a set of seven weights, ranging from ½ dwt to 6 dwt. It was used to weigh gold on a set of gold bullion beam scales or balance scales. Small, portable miners' pan scales were common on the goldfields, and the weights and scales were stored and carried around in wooden boxes.

Larger counter scales, found on the counters in banks and assay offices, were made by companies like W. & T. Avery Ltd. of England.

Publisher

Private collection

Contributor

'dwt' is pennyweight, the Imperial weight measurement for weighing gold. There are 20 dwt to a troy oz. In the late 1870s, alluvial gold was worth between £3/17/10 and £3/18/10 an oz.

Format

Item: Metallic
Diagnostic: Yes
Surface find.
Weight: g
Size: mm

Type

Physical Object

Coverage

165138S1454201E
Old Smithfield township, Barron QLD 4871
Colonial Queensland
1870s

Rights

© 2021 oldsmithfield.com

Relation

There are two other Assay Weights that have been found at Old Smithfield township;
  • Sm.306, Assay Weight, 5 dwt
  • Sm.307, Assay Weight, 6 dwt
See:

Assay Weight, 6 dwt

oldsmithfield.com_059.6DWT.jpg

Brass assay standard 'Penny Weight'.Lozenge shape (retangular with clipped corners).Embossed with the letters: '6 DWTS.'


Assay Weight, 5 dwt

oldsmithfield.com_060.5DWT.jpg

Brass assay standard 'Penny Weight'.Lozenge shape (retangular with clipped corners).Embossed with the letters: '5 DWTS.'

Geolocation

Collection

Citation (Chicago 17 Style)

n.c., “Assay Weight, 3 dwt,” c.1800s, Item Sm.305, Private collection, https://oldsmithfield.com/omeka/items/show/61.

Item Relations

This item is similar to Assay Weight, 5 dwt

This item is similar to Assay Weight, 6 dwt