MCNALLY FAIRBANKS COIN SCALES

Malcolm Mathias of Forest Hill, Victoria, Australia writes:

McNally – Fairbanks – U.S.Coin – M.B.Coin - Abbott Machine Co CCDs

In 1862 the New York Times reported that 80% of American currency in circulation was counterfeit. In 1865 the US Federal Government created the Secret Service and over the next 40 years counterfeiting was eradicated as a major crime. Clever inventors made various counterfeit coin detectors to assist banks, shop-keepers, and the public to identify the genuine from the counterfeit.

An advertisement in The American Banker of May 1879 announced the availability of a New Invention- the J.T.McNally Gold and Silver Counterfeit Coin Detector.

 

J.T.McNally. Inventor inscribed on the rocker beam - mounted on a wooden base. Note the small hole in the base at lower right - the small gold dollar counterweight pin is often missing from these scales.

 

Unfortunately, there were complications with the US Patent application which allowed others to mimic the balancing structure of the original J.T.McNally invention, and through minor changes of the design, competitors were able to market different versions of the Mc Nally invention under their own name. Picture: Fairbanks & Co

There are at least eight different known versions of the basic McNally rocker CCD:

1. James T. McNally on a wooden base and labelled J.T.McNally. Inventor on the beam.

2. Fairbanks & Co on an elongated black metal base and labelled Fairbanks & Co on the beam

3. Fairbanks Infallible on an elongated black metal base and labelled The Fairbanks Infallible Scale Co Baltimore, MD. U.S.A. on the beam.

4. U.S. Coin Co on a rectangular black metal base and labelled U.S. Coin Scale 31 Broad St N.Y. on the beam.

5. M.B.Coin Co on an elongated black metal base and labelled M.B.Co. on the beam.

6. Abbott Machine Co, Chicago on a wooden base and labelled Abbott Machine Co Chicago on the beam.

7. Abbott Machine Co, Chicago on a black metal base and labelled Abbott Machine Co Chicago on the beam.

8. Fairbanks & Co on a wooden base and labelled Fairbanks & Co on the beam.

9. The small counterweight pin (as shown in transparent bag in Fairbanks & Co picture above) for helping to counterbalance the small $1 gold coin is invariably missing.

I am researching all versions of the McNally CCD to create a detailed illustrated listing of all versions as a reference source for collectors. I now own 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 above, but I am chasing 6, 7, 8 and 9 in the above list.

Version 6 Wanted: Abbot Machine Co. Chicago The rocker has nine slots to measure the weight, diameter, and thickness of all U.S. gold and silver coin denominations from 25 cents to 20 dollars.

 

The slotted beam was mounted on either a walnut or mahogany base. Abbott Machine Co. Chicago is inscribed on the beam.

Version 7 Wanted: New design for the Abbott Machine Co. Chicago advertised in the American Stationer Dec 4, 1890

 

The distinctive shape of the new design metal base is painted black and decorated with fine gold flecks painted over the black base. Note the counterweight pin in the lower left of the black base.

Wanted: Australian collector happy to pay a reasonable price for either Abbott Machine Co version (6 or 7) and/or the Fairbanks version (8) on a wooden base and/or an original counterweight pin (9).

Are there any other versions known? Photographs of other versions would be much appreciated.

Please contact Malcolm Mathias, Australian member of the International Society of Antique Scale Collectors (ISASC) via email mathias.m.h@bigpond.com .

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web