GERMANY. Jülich-Berg. Scale and weights 1806 (Brass, 132x67 mm, 146.60 g). Scale and eleven weights by Johann Melchior Kruse senior in Elberfeld. Coin weights represent (with period spellings) DUCAT, Ls. D'OR and PISTOL. In original wooden case with written dedication on the inside. Very fine.


Beginning in 1772, the Kruse family became a privileged manufacturer of gold scales under a royal patent granted by King Friedrich II of Prussia. Well into the nineteenth century, these scales were regarded as among the most precise and reliable of their time. At the major German trade fairs - especially those in Frankfurt and Leipzig - they were widely used to verify the authenticity of gold coins from across Europe by means of accurate weight measurement.