The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 30, July 29, 2007, Article 16

GLASS COIN WEIGHTS AND THE CORNING MUSEUM OF GLASS

Chick Ambrass writes: "On the way home from our recent annual
family vacation we stopped and visited the Corning Museum of
Glass in Corning, NY. I was anticipating spending an hour or so
there.  We left four hours later, having still not seen everything.
It was very impressive. They had a chronological history of glass,
starting about 6000 BC.  Many items reminded me of my ancient
coin collection, including ancient Greece, the Egyptian, including
the Ptolemy eras, Roman, Byzantine, and Medieval glass styles.
Many pieces resembled medals - again, reminding me of coins.

"I saw something that I never knew existed....glass coin weights.
These are molded pieces of glass, with inscriptions denoting the
correct weights of various coins. The comment was made that the
glass coin weights may have been more reliable than their metal
counterparts, because it would be easier to see if someone had
made an alteration to a glass coin weight.

"I have several coin weights, by far not an extensive collection,
and I have only one reference, and that is PONDERA MEDICINALIA by
Daniel Vangroenweghe and Tillo Geldof.  Looking thru their work
I see no mention of glass coin weights. Can anyone add to the
story of glass coin weights, and suggest further reading?

"Getting back to the visit to the Corning Museum of Glass, if you
are in the Finger Lakes region of New York, the time would be a
great investment, the history, and the experience was well worth
the $12 admission price."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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