Saturday, June 13, 2020

Two Ounce Bronze Barrel Weight - is the inscription V or C

A recent purchase is a 2 ounce bronze weight with an inscription. The inscription is either V or C. I suspect the weight had other inscriptions, but environmental damage, over cleaning and a layer of laquer added after cleaning keeps me from seeing other letters.

Roman two ounce bronze commercial weight with some of the original silver inlay. The size is correct for a 2 ounce weight (52.0 g; 22.9 X 17.1 mm). I can see what looks like a V. The rest of the inscription, if there was one, is missing. Based on the weights shown below, I would expect a legend that includes 2 to 4 of the letters: VNCIA (VN, VNCI, etc.) and a Roman number 2 – II.

The seller calls the inscription a C. Bruno Kisch in Scales and Weights, describes weights from the Temple of Castor in Rome. The temple housed sets of standard weights. They had inscriptions: CASTO, CAST, CAS, CA, etc. The letter on my weight could be a C, but it looks more like a V to me.

The pictures below were taken with different cameras and light sources in an attempt to see an inscription. I could not see any more in hand with a loop. 
Computer microscope

Nikon P900 camera 

Seller’s pic
Pictures of I, II, III and IV VNCIA weights are below.


2 VN weight from Brit Museum


3 VNCI weight, rrd collection


6 VNCIA weight, rrd collection


Two 2 ounce weights from CNG


Two 1 ounce weights from rrd collection

Five 2 ounce weights from rrd collection.


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