File:Medieval steelyard, Steelyard weight fragment (FindID 626052).jpg

English: A small fragment of the shell casing of a copper alloy steelyard weight of the medieval period. The weight would probably have had a shell that was roughly conical in shape with a rounded base and narrowed peak with a suspension loop. It would have been filled with lead but now only a fragment of the shell casing survives. This example appears to have incised heraldic devices, although all now incomplete and hard to decipher. Steelyards often had designs such as shields (often of Richard, Earl of Cornwall; Ward-Perkins 1954:172-3) although other designs are seen (ibid.). Steelyard weights were made on behalf of Edward I (AD 1272-1307), however as this example is so fragmentary it is not possible to say if this was an official, or unofficial copy. Most steelyards of this type date to the 13th century AD; the use of the steelyard was banned in 1350 partly because of the ease in which they were copied.