Bronze Troy Nesting Weights

A set of bronze troy nesting weights used for weighing precious or potent goods such as bullion or medicine.

This set comprises of four weights. 2oz, 3oz, 5oz and 10oz. An unusual aspect of these is that each weight is comprised of the weights inside: 2+3=5 or 2+3+5=10.

The troy weight system is very old. Here’s the scientific bit (thanks to Wikipedia):

Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in 15th-century England, and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The Troy weights are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 pennyweights), and the troy pound (12 troy ounces). The troy grain is equal to the grain-unit of the avoirdupois system, the troy ounce is heavier than the avoirdupois ounce, yet the troy pound is lighter than the avoirdupois pound.

A troy ounce weighs 480 grains. A grain is an obsolescent unit of measurement of mass, and in the troy weight, avoirdupois, and Apothecaries' system, equal to exactly 64.79891 milligrams. It is nominally based upon the mass of a single ideal seed of a cereal.

Wow! If you understood all that, I congratulate you!

A great display piece (as I wouldn’t have a clue on how to use them properly) these would look great in an apothecary/medical display amongst similar objects.

These brass weights when nested together measure approx. 6cm wide x 4cm tall. They have many stamped measurements inside and around the edge including a crown which would suggest these were British made.

Troy weight = an old and complicated measuring system.