A George IV silver London Land Coal Meter's badge

A George IV silver London Land Coal Meter's badge,

by Thomas Smith and Thomas Merryweather, London 1824,

oval form, reeded border, engraved with the arms of the City of London, and inscribed 'LAND COAL METER' and '49', with a ring attachment, length 8.8cm, approx. weight 0.7oz.

Provenance: The James Walker Collection, Christie's South Kensington, 13th July 2006, lot 245.

These were officials of the Corporation of London, appointed under a Law of 1807 to measure and assess the quality of coals imported into the Port of London. These positions were abolished in 1831 as it was decided that due to the difficulty of applying the legislative regulations for preventing fraud in relation to the qualities of coals which were found to be continually varying, the public were not obtaining the security or benefit as regards quality or quantity. In short, the advantage to the public was not equivalent to the cost of administering the regulations. By abolishing the office of Land Coal Meter it was estimated that a direct saving of four pence per cauldron was made.