File:14th century merchant's seal matrix, die view (FindID 93313).jpg

English: A complete copper alloy seal matrix. The die of the seal is circular in plan with a diameter of 23.48mm. Carved in negative is the inscription S’IO NIS [….] IO NIS FELI, which possibly refers to the seal of Iohanis or John, son of another Iohanis or John or alternatively the seal of John Johnson. This inscription runs around the central image. This central image is of a quartered shield. The central cross line extends beyond the top of the shield and has three pennants flying from it to the right (when viewing the impression). The shield is contained within a four-arched tressure. The entire design and inscription is enclosed within a border decorated with short, vertical hatched lines that runs around the edge of the die. The shaft of the seal matrix is conical and six sided. The six sides are exaggerated by six grooved lines and raised mouldings at the bottom of the shaft that give the impression that the shaft is fanning out in a petal-like manner. The top of the shaft terminates in a well-defined trefoil loop. Beneath the loop is a moulded collar of double bands. The seal matrix has an over all length of 38.04mm and weighs 27.14g. The overall patina of the seal matrix is mid brown with patches of dark green (presumably the remains of the original surface).

In their book A guide to British Medieval seals, page 92 , Harvey and McGuinness (1990) note that despite the presence of a shield in the design, seal matrices, such as the one recorded here, were not heraldic but had heraldic ‘pretensions’ and were used by merchants from the late 13th- 15th centuries.