Coin weights were made to correspond to the weights of particular coin denominations, and the denomination in question was usually indicated in the design. They were most commonly made of brass or other copper alloy and were generally produced for high-value pieces, gold rather than silver coins. Their purpose was to check the weight of coin in circulation and ensure that coin received was of good quality. Normally they would correspond to the lowest weight at which the coin remained legal tender. They could be used to guard against clipped, worn or counterfeit coin and to check the standards of foreign coin permitted in currency. For example, weights were provided in England for ducats and florins in the sixteenth century; for French louis d'or in the late seventeenth; and for the huge amounts of Portuguese gold in the early eighteenth