girard balancier G.couronné - girard balancier - Trebuchet balance - Brass - Trebuchet at G. Crowned

Lovely antique pocket-watch–shaped balance scale for exchange (or travel monetary balance). Complete,
Years: dated 1800-1840
Complete and in good condition – usable

It is presented in its carved wooden box with its table of gold and silver coins glued to the inside of the lid.
Main features

Case: Solid carved wood hollowed in a pocket-watch shape with a fitted lid.
Instruments: A small metal balance beam (trebuchet) with its pans suspended by cords.
Weights: A set of nested weights (pile à godets) and small flat weights (slips).
Coin table: Indicates the weight equivalents for the old and new currencies in circulation in France.

The maker of this monetary balance is indicated on the paper label inside the lid: it is GIRARD, who practiced as a Balancier (balance maker). One can read his name printed vertically along the left edge of the label: “GIRARD, BALANCIER”.
Details about the workshop and the sign: The shop sign: The label indicates at the top “Au G. couronné” (Le Grand Couronné), which was the name or sign of his shop. The address: On the right edge of the label, one can glimpse part of his Paris address: “rue St-Martin, No. 54, in Paris”. Rue Saint-Martin in Paris historically was a district renowned for artisans, locksmiths and makers of precision instruments (balanciers).