Electrotype copy of a set of 13 Troy weights from 256 oz to 8 oz. of the time of Queen Elizabeth

Electrotype copy of a set of 13 Troy weights from 256 oz to 8 oz. of the time of Queen Elizabeth, dated 1588. The originals were the property of the City of Winchester

In 1495 Henry VII passed an Act sending weights and measures to 42 towns. ‘The King has caused to be made standards of brass and the knights and citizens of every shire attending Parliament shall convey into these boroughs and towns a set of these, ... and the inhabitants are to make standards from those so sent.’ Elizabeth I followed suit with three issues of standard weights and measures to 57 towns. The final issue, in 1588, remained the standards for nearly 250 years. These are troy weights for precious metals ranging from 256 pounds to 60 grains. They were copied from the set at Winchester.