For sale is a pair of BRASS CRANE SCALE PANCAKE WEIGHTS from the Crane Foundry, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. One weight is a one-ounce weight and the other is a two-ounce weight that nest together. These two weights would have come from different weight sets. One is marked with the crown and “VR 65”. The reverse of the 2 ounce weight has a crazy amount of numbers stamped on the reverse. The larger weight measures about 1 3/8 inches diameter.
The Crane Foundry opened some time before 1827 when it was known as Atherton’s Foundry, run by James Atherton and Henry Crane. Initially it was a brass foundry, but by 1827 iron castings were also produced on the site. The main products were castings for the building industry, ironmongery and brassware. By 1836, Henry Crane had taken control of the business. The company started making iron weights during the 1850s. Brass weights were also produced after the regulation of 1890 that required weights of 2 oz. or less to be made of brass.
Commercial weights have always been regulated by some authority or other, and generally exhibit marks showing when, and by whom, they were tested. The marks on a weight usually provide info concerning: (1) the weight; (2) the cipher of the monarch; (3) a mark to indicate the locality where the weight was tested; (4) a date; (5) a maker’s name (more often seen on cast-iron weights than brass ones); or (6) a design registration number, or a trade mark.
