The most expensive pint in Britain! Elizabethan mug used by officials to make sure publicans weren’t ripping off their customers sells for £39,000
An Elizabethan mug used by weights and measures officials to make sure publicans were not ripping off their customers has sold for a staggering £39,000.
In 1601 Queen Elizabeth I ordered bronze measuring mugs to be issued across all the towns in England to enforce fair trade.
Whenever a dispute started between innkeepers and their customers, the Exchequer-standard mugs could be brought out to check the quantity of beer or wine being traded.
The four inch tall and four inch wide mug would have been stored in a secure place by town officials to use when necessary.
It had been expected to sell for £10,000 but actually went for four times that amount.
An Elizabethan mug used by weights and measures officials to make sure publicans were not ripping off their customers has sold for a whopping £39,000
In 1601 Queen Elizabeth I ordered bronze measuring mugs to be issued across all the towns in England to enforce fair trade
Whenever a dispute happened between innkeepers and their customers, the Exchequer-standard mugs could be produced to check the quantity of beer or wine being traded
It had the ER cipher moulded on to the side to reinforce the royal command.
The mug formed part of a collection of pewter 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 pint measuring mugs from this period are held in the British Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Oliver Miller, managing director of the auction house, said: ‘It is incredibly rare to have a measuring mug like this in such pristine condition coming onto the market.
Queen Elizabeth I (pictured) was the daughter of Henry VII and Anne Boleyn
The tankard had been expected to sell for £10,000 but 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 unbelievable history being commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I as a way to settle commercial disputes.
‘You can just picture old town officials going to fetch the official pint measuring mug.
‘We had worldwide interest before the sale which made us hopeful but we certainly didn’t anticipate it doing this well.
‘These official measuring mugs just aren’t seen on the market, they have to be handled very carefully.
‘We were very pleased with the sale.’