GEORGE III - FOLDING COIN BALANCE Post-1816 recoinage; circa 1820. A mahogany cased self-raising pocket balance to weigh the gold 'Guinea, Half Guinea, 7 Shillings, Sovereign and Half Sovereign' coins. The case with press catch latch. The balance in brass with hinged pan, integral hinged swivel 'turn' balance weights and fine adjustment slider. Original full labels present for instructions and bearing the well-known maker name 'DE GRAVE & SON Makers London'. 135 x 25 x 15 mm (5 ¼ x 1 x ¾ inches). Very fine condition; the case of good colour and patina; the mechanism toned. Literature Cf Houben No. 2.2.1, fig. 154; Sheppard & Musham p. 106 (and No. 223 for another example by this maker). Footnotes The De Grave family started business in England in the 18th century. Unusually, a woman, Mary DeGrave, owned and ran the business with her son, Charles (recorded from another set as Scale Maker at 'Corner of St Anne's Lane, Aldersgate') as De Grave and Son, listed from 1799 to 1844. They became De Grave Short & Co in 1845. W & T Avery bought the company in the 1920s and the De Grave name disappears after 1962. The company made scales and also standard weights and measures for the British and other governments.
GEORGE III - FOLDING COIN BALANCE Post-1816 recoinage; circa 1820. A mahogany cased self-raising pocket balance to weigh the gold 'Guinea, Half Guinea, 7 Shillings, Sovereign and Half Sovereign' coins. The case with press catch latch. The balance in brass with hinged pan, integral hinged swivel 'turn' balance weights and fine adjustment slider. Original full labels present for instructions and bearing the well-known maker name 'DE GRAVE & SON Makers London'. 135 x 25 x 15 mm (5 ¼ x 1 x ¾ inches). Very fine condition; the case of good colour and patina; the mechanism toned. Literature Cf Houben No. 2.2.1, fig. 154; Sheppard & Musham p. 106 (and No. 223 for another example by this maker). Footnotes The De Grave family started business in England in the 18th century. Unusually, a woman, Mary DeGrave, owned and ran the business with her son, Charles (recorded from another set as Scale Maker at 'Corner of St Anne's Lane, Aldersgate') as De Grave and Son, listed from 1799 to 1844. They became De Grave Short & Co in 1845. W & T Avery bought the company in the 1920s and the De Grave name disappears after 1962. The company made scales and also standard weights and measures for the British and other governments.
Try LotSearch and its premium features for 7 days - without any costs!
Be notified automatically about new items in upcoming auctions.
Create an alert
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
