Well first off, hi! 
This is my first post here on TreasureNet! I'll save a formal introduction for later...let's get right down to business.
I found this item while metal detecting in my Grandmother's backyard recently. Her home is located in the town of Lyndhurst, New Jersey. I have no history on the land except that she tells me the town was mostly farmland long ago. The object responds very slightly to a magnet. The only thing I can think of is that either it is made of some alloy or the lumps on the back are made of a (magnetic) metal, different from the rest of the object. I do not have an exact weight, but it is quite heavy in the hand. It measures about 2cm across and is 3-5mm thick. The thickness is not even all around. It also looks like there may be some sort of hook or loop that is now flattened on the edge, like it once hung from something.
The words on the front read as follows:
PUBLIC
4847
WEIGHER
NEW
JERSEY
Also, around the top edge on the front is a name, but it is cut off along with the last bit of the word JERSEY in NEW JERSEY. The name seems to be "WILLIAM A. HENEA-" or "WILLIAM A. RENEA-". The words were likely stamped on, as the letters are raised, and the "stamp" seems to have been placed off-center (that's why some of the words are cut off). There are words on the back, but there are two or three lumps of something obscuring them. I think they're either globs of metal dripped on, dirt, or corrosion. I think the first word is "MOUNTAIN" but all you can see is "MO--TAIN". The second word below it is only two or three letters, two of which are near impossibly to make out. The last letter is definetly E. It looks like it may have said ICE, making the full phrase "MOUNTAIN ICE".
I personally think the object is quite old. The only theory I can throw out there is that maybe ice was delivered way back for iceboxes (since refrigerators weren't around yet). Maybe the ice was sold by weight, and a Public Weigher had to verify each container with this little tag/stamp thing. From my research, a Public Weigher is a very old profession. They would...well...weigh stuff; anything from grain to gold. I don't think they exist in New Jersey anymore.
So, here are the pictures. I apologize for the lighting and clarity on some of these, I have an OLD digital camera. My main goal was to try and get the words clear. They turned up much clearer with the flash on, so a couple of these pictures are almost whited out.
My two main questions about this item are: What is it? and What type of metal is it made of? (I was thinking lead maybe?)
This is my first post here on TreasureNet! I'll save a formal introduction for later...let's get right down to business.I found this item while metal detecting in my Grandmother's backyard recently. Her home is located in the town of Lyndhurst, New Jersey. I have no history on the land except that she tells me the town was mostly farmland long ago. The object responds very slightly to a magnet. The only thing I can think of is that either it is made of some alloy or the lumps on the back are made of a (magnetic) metal, different from the rest of the object. I do not have an exact weight, but it is quite heavy in the hand. It measures about 2cm across and is 3-5mm thick. The thickness is not even all around. It also looks like there may be some sort of hook or loop that is now flattened on the edge, like it once hung from something.
The words on the front read as follows:
PUBLIC
4847
WEIGHER
NEW
JERSEY
Also, around the top edge on the front is a name, but it is cut off along with the last bit of the word JERSEY in NEW JERSEY. The name seems to be "WILLIAM A. HENEA-" or "WILLIAM A. RENEA-". The words were likely stamped on, as the letters are raised, and the "stamp" seems to have been placed off-center (that's why some of the words are cut off). There are words on the back, but there are two or three lumps of something obscuring them. I think they're either globs of metal dripped on, dirt, or corrosion. I think the first word is "MOUNTAIN" but all you can see is "MO--TAIN". The second word below it is only two or three letters, two of which are near impossibly to make out. The last letter is definetly E. It looks like it may have said ICE, making the full phrase "MOUNTAIN ICE".
I personally think the object is quite old. The only theory I can throw out there is that maybe ice was delivered way back for iceboxes (since refrigerators weren't around yet). Maybe the ice was sold by weight, and a Public Weigher had to verify each container with this little tag/stamp thing. From my research, a Public Weigher is a very old profession. They would...well...weigh stuff; anything from grain to gold. I don't think they exist in New Jersey anymore.
So, here are the pictures. I apologize for the lighting and clarity on some of these, I have an OLD digital camera. My main goal was to try and get the words clear. They turned up much clearer with the flash on, so a couple of these pictures are almost whited out.
My two main questions about this item are: What is it? and What type of metal is it made of? (I was thinking lead maybe?)
That would give me an approx. year, and some interesting history behind it. Even though the end of the name is cut off, with some work I could probably still find some records.
