CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES, | 233 
So far I have not been able to trace a single example of these particular 
boxes. 
An examination of early scale-boxes indicates to what an enormous extent 
foreign money was in circulation in this country, necessitating the issue of 
special weights, albeit they bore the effigy of the English monarch. For 
instance, in the reign of Charles II. weights were known for :!! 
Gold. 
Weight. Value. 
dwt. grs Dae Sig 
The golden rider OER 6 12 Via G 
mhavitvoldemmiders 6. 9. 6 ke CS 6 11 3 
», Spanish or French quadruple pistole . . 17 £ 310 3 
us ae x5 double pistole . ee 14 115 0 
se ie 5 single pistole pee: 7 Lis @ 
a 3 a half pistole 4 : < ae 33 8 9 
;, double ducat 2 5 ‘ ; 3 Leet: 12 18 0 
:, Single ducat . 2 6 9™0 
5, Spanish suffrance 7 2 17 on G 
" A half-suffrance 3 13 14 3 
Silver. 
The ducatoon . . Me Juste. $20 16 6 0 
Half and quarter in proportion. 
The Mexico, Sevil or pillar piece of eight, the rix 
dollar, cross dollar and French Lewis . . 17 0 4 9 
Half, quarter, and half-quarter in proportion. 
The Portugal royal . ode .oMlirite 14 0 3 8 
Half and quarter in proportion. 
Royal proclamations referring to coin-weights, and occasionally to scales, 
were issued in various reigns; the earliest by King John (1205) stated that for 
discovering lack of weight ‘there was issued from the mint office a penny- 
poise, wanting one-eighth of a penny, to be delivered to anyone who would 
have it.’ 
Various other references occur in proclamations issued by Edward I., 
Henry V., Henry VI., Henry VII., Elizabeth, James I., Charles L., 
Charles II., and William III. 
Returning to the coin-scales, it may be as well to state that the largest 
collection in the country has been classified in the following series :—(1) Tooled 
and plain wood boxes; (2) shagreen-covered boxes; (3) japanned iron boxes, 
usually oval; (4) narrow boxes with automatic balances; (5) brass sovereign- 
balances ; (6) miscellaneous. 
From the preceding I think it is demonstrated that there have been and still 
are difficulties in our system of coinage, difficulties which would be immeasur- 
ably simplified by the use of the metric system. Similar or greater difficulties 
exist in all our other weights and measures, and these could be similarly 
surmounted with equal ease. 
(Typical forms of boxes of coin-scales were exhibited in illustration of the 
paper.) 
Mr. G. C. Harr Gorpon opened the discussion as follows: I compliment 
the author on his very interesting paper. As an ardent advocate of the metric 
system I would have wished for a little more about it; but I feel that Mr. 
Sheppard has conveyed some very interesting information in showing that in 
this country great changes have taken place. One thing I would nctice is this : 
he made no reference to an interesting coin, the Novus denarius, which was 
introduced into Europe by Pepin the Short. It was a silver penny which 
obtained currency throughout Europe. I think it is the only case after the 
11 See L. A. Lawrence, ‘Coin Weights,’ Brit. Numismatic Journ. vol. vi. 
1909, p. 294. 
