Elizabethan mug used to make sure publicans weren’t ripping off their customers sells for £39,000
The most expensive pint in Britain! Elizabethan mug used by officials to ensure tax collectors don’t rip off customers sells for £39,000
An Elizabethan mug used by weights and measures officials to ensure publicans don’t rip off their customers has sold for a whopping £39,000.
In 1601, Queen Elizabeth I ordered bronze measuring cups to be issued in all cities of England to enforce fair trade.
Whenever a dispute arose between innkeepers and their customers, the treasury’s mugs could be brought out to check the amount of beer or wine being traded.
The 4-inch-high, 4-inch-wide mug would have been kept in a safe place by city officials for use if needed.
It was expected to sell for £10,000 but actually went for four times that amount.
An Elizabethan mug used by weights and measures officials to ensure publicans don’t rip off their customers has sold for a staggering £39,000
In 1601 Queen Elizabeth I ordered bronze measuring cups to be issued in all cities of England to enforce fair trade
When there was a dispute between innkeepers and their customers, Treasury mugs could be produced to check the amount of beer or wine being traded
It had the ER cipher cast on the side to reinforce the royal command.
The mug was part of a pewter collection owned by the late Tony Chapman, who served as president of the Pewter Society between 2010 and 2011.
The pint mug was sold to an American collector by Bishop and Miller Auctioneers in Stowmarket, Suffolk.
Other examples of measuring cups from this period are kept in the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Oliver Miller, the auction house’s managing director, said: ‘It is incredibly rare for a measuring cup like this to hit the market in such pristine condition.
Queen Elizabeth I (pictured) was the daughter of Henry VII and Anne Boleyn
The tankard was expected to sell for £10,000, but it actually went for four times that amount
It was sold to an American collector by Bishop and Miller Auctioneers in Stowmarket, Suffolk
“It has an absolutely incredible history commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I as a way to settle commercial disputes.
“You can imagine old city officials going to get the official pint measuring cup.
“Before the sale, we had worldwide interest, which gave us hope, but we certainly did not expect it to go so well.
‘You just don’t see these official measuring cups on the market, you have to be very careful with them.
“We were very happy with the sale.”
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