Ave!

Steelyard Balance Scale Weight, 1st-3rd Cent. AD

Copper alloy; 23mm x 21mm/20.0gm.

Con/ As Cast; green and brown patina.

Seller's Note/ Hold the phone, something not right with this weight! The Roman standard of 1 Unica is right around 27gm. Ours is only 20gm. So, what going on here? As seen in the photo, this weight was deliberately cast with a pouch within the weight that may have been covered somehow and been meant to deceive. Perhaps used by an unscrupulous merchant? Or it's just an odd weight? Hm...

For ease of use, steelyard scales were hand-held. The second photo is a re-construction of the same.