OLD WEST BRASS ASSAYER'S SCALE NW-40942
Assayer’s Scales, used to weigh gold dust and nuggets were not the exclusive property of professional assayers. Gold became the medium of exchange in the territory for much of the 1800’s and nearly every miner, mine or mill owner, banker and storekeeper owned an assayer’s scale This brass beauty has a hexagonal wood and brass base which doubles as counter weight holder. It stands approx 7 inches tall. Can be assembled and disassembled for use and storage. |
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• Solid Brass w/ Holder Pans
• Hexagonal base and weight holder
• 7 inches tall
(Gold & pouch sold seperately FG002)
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| THE BALANCE SCALE A "balance scale" is used to work out the weight of an item. It’s been around for many years and indeed, was the primary device used to present a numerical value to an item’s weight in the Old West. It’s an incredibly correct piece of apparatus, despite its age. The fundamental design is that there are a pair of pans hung from a horizontal bar that’s supported precisely within the middle by a pivot purpose. You place the item on one pan and counter with a various defined weights in the other pan till the two sides are level. At this time, you’d count the values of the weights you added to the opposite facet which would be the weight of the item originally placed. You might typically see that balance scale depicted within the Wild West throughout the gold rush. They were typically used to figure the weight of gold that a prospector found, giving it value for trade. In many Hollywood films, you'll see the assayer’s workplace with a balance scale in it. He can have a weight on one facet and be scooping gold dust into the opposite to the miner's anticipated delight. |
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