Need help dating antique cast iron weight

[eugene.e.bay]

Can anyone help me figure out how old this is, what it might be worth, anything?  Thank you

 

 

[melda58]

@eugene.e.bay On the off chance that the letters might be helpful, can you tell us what they are?  - a bit hard to read in the photo.

Rita

[sonomabarn67]

A horse weight?

[mmadigan]

AI told me a horse weight was ca 930 pounds.  The item must be made from a new element to be that dense.😀

[orphie1402]

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-vintage-set-six-french-cast-831871403

[melda58]

Ah so the letters say Hectog.  Look like OP has the next to heaviest one.

Rita

[melda58]

Or maybe not.

Rita

[sonomabarn67]

But what are they for?

[lacemaker3]

It looks to me like the letters say "2 HECTOG", so that would be 2 hectograms, or 200 grams. The larger ones would say KILOG, for kilograms.

According to this (sold out) listing, these weights were used "for Roberval-type scales".

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1698867853/6-antique-french-cast-iron-weights?show_sold_out_detail=1&re...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberval_balance

[sonomabarn67]

But what are they specifically used for? Commerce? Hog auctions? Why the ring?

[sonomabarn67]

My responses are directed at the "anything?" portion of OP's post.

[lacemaker3]

---

@sonomabarn67 wrote:

But what are they specifically used for? Commerce? Hog auctions? Why the ring?

---

Well, it weighs 200 grams, or 7.05 ounces, slightly less than half a pound. The set of 6 weights of graduated sizes, which was linked above, ranges from 50 to 2,000 grams, or 1.76 ounces to 4.4 pounds. So they would have been used to weigh things, that were fairly large. The total weight for the whole set was 3,850 grams, or 8.49 pounds. Probably commercial. The rings would have made it easier to handle and pick up the weights.

I don't think they have anything to do with horses or hogs.

[sonomabarn67]

I grew up on a farm in Ohio and never saw them and am mostly just curious. Thanks!

[c*me*4*lefton*info]

One might be inclined to actually weigh the item.  No doubt 200 grams is about 7 ounces - but does this thing weigh exactly 200 grams (as marked)?

If it were me the first two attributes I would describe in my request for help in identification of a possible weight would be it's dimensions (as always) and (in this case) it's WEIGHT.

The ring could possibly be used to hang the weight from a balance type scale.

[lacemaker3]

---

@sonomabarn67 wrote:

I grew up on a farm in Ohio and never saw them and am mostly just curious. Thanks!

---

The use of the metric system would suggest they are more likely to be European, rather than American.

It would be interesting if the OP could confirm how much his weighs.