Historical information

No information is available on the history of these six examples of pennyweights. A pennyweight was a unit of mass that was equal in weight to 20 grains, one twentieth of an ounce and one 240th of a Troy pound. The abbreviation for a pennyweight is ‘dwt’ (denarius weight). Pennyweights were and are used in the weighing of precious metals and are still used by dentists in the measurement of the metal used in dental crowns etc.

Significance

These items are of antiquarian interest and will be useful for displays.

Physical description

These are six pennyweights of varying weights – 5 pennyweights, 4, 3, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6. They appear to be made of brass and the 5, 4 and 3 pennyweights are rounded off rectangles in shape with eight sides. The three smaller weights are rectangular in shape with nipped-off edges.

Inscriptions & markings

‘5 dwts’, ‘4 dwts’, ‘3 dwts’
In black labelling, ‘1499.10, 1499.11, 1499.12’ (old cataloguing numbers)