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SEAL
Unique ID: SUSS-63EB84
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
Post Medieval French lead Cinque Grosses Fermes customs or goods tax seal (the name refers to 5 tax districts), probably not for a cloth as it is not of the most appropriate (riveted) format for a textile, but for some other kind of goods. It has been torn off and about a third is missing. There are the remains of two slots running through it where cords or laces would have been attached. On both sides are stamped designs encircled by a legend: the arms of France on one side with full crown and collar around, and those of Rouen (Lamb of God with in chief three fleurs de lis) in a cartouche on the other. One one side is: [...]ROI ROUEN [...]M[...], on the other [...] FERMES [...]. It is 31.5mm by 35.4mm and 6.2mm thick; it weighs 32.30 grams.
Sabatier (1912) p 164 & pls 7-8 no. 130, illustrates an example with similar stamps (slightly different legends) also from Rouen and notes the style of the heraldry is that of Louis XV (reigned 1715-74), and that the two-hole form (single disc) began later than 1737/8.
Inscription:
[...]ROI ROUEN [...]M[...], [...] FERMES [...]
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
Period from: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1738
Date to: Circa AD 1774
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 31.5 mm
Width: 35.4 mm
Thickness: 6.2 mm
Weight: 32.3 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Wednesday 7th April 2010
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Lead Alloy
Manufacture method: Stamped
Completeness: Incomplete
Spatial metadata
Region: South East (European Region)County or Unitary authority: West Sussex (County)
District: Chichester (District)
To be known as: Near Chichester
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sabatier, A. | 1912 | Sigillographie Historique: Plombs Histori?s de la Saone et de la Seine | Paris | Honor | pp.164 & pls 7-8 | 130 |
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Timeline of associated dates
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