Expert: Martin G Roberts - 11/20/2007

Question
G'day, i have an old pewter measure that's about 3inches tall, i can just make out a stamp with a crown' the numbers 174 underneath crown, a stamp of a hanging sheep or something and then GILL. Could you please tell me anything about this? Thanks Regards Al.

Answer
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Probably what collectors call a bellied or bulbous measure, of gill (quarter pint, Imperial) capacity. Probably made in either Manchester or Birmingham (though there are other possibilities, and I could not be certain without sight of the piece) around 1830-80, and used in Leeds, where the capacity verification marks were applied by weights and measures inspectors to indicate conformance to the standard. The fleece (hanging sheep) is part of the arms of the City of Leeds, and 174 is the Uniform Verification number for Leeds. See the Verification Marks page on my website for more details.

Martin
www.antique-metalware.co.uk