For sale a Regency Period double turn folding gold balance by Stephen Houghton & Son of Ormskirk (Successors to A. Wilkinson)Comprised of a two-part narrow mahogany case with hinge at one side and push catch at the other. The lifting of the lid automatically raises a brass balance beam by means of two hinged supporting columns, and then a coin plate folded flat to the top is manually turned out for operation.The beam end supports two additional hinged weights called “turns” which may be adjusted in accordance with the case instructions and the type of coinage. The balance arm also sports an engraved scale and slider which would be used to calculate subtle variations from the published standard weight. It is perhaps obvious to reference but the popularity of these ingenious scales was born out of the fact that gold was subject to both wear and tear and nefarious practices, meaning that the difference in the amount of gold contained in the same coin could be vastly different from...