Weighing in on Egg Scales

Foreign connection?

Two foreign egg scales similar to the Acme have been seen by collectors. Little is known about the origins of either. The Canadian Dominion scale has seven fins. It shows the weight-per-dozen grading range and uses the weight-lifting principle. It is mounted on a flat, bone-shaped, cast-iron base painted green.

The second scale similar to the Acme is the Multiplo egg grader from Australia. The scale sold for $1.69 Australian in the 1949 Clarks’ catalog. It has the same weight-lifting principle as the Acme, with nine fins, but the grading shows the actual weight of one egg in 1/8-ounce increments, rather than weight per dozen.

As on the Acme, the flange at the end opposite the egg cup (on the later scale) is an improved design to provide a much more rigid frame than the earlier model, although it is shaped differently than the later model Acme. Multiplo also stayed with the cast aluminum base for its later model. FC 

This article was adapted from the original text published in Equilibrium, the Quarterly Magazine of the International Society of Antique Scale Collectors, Issue 1, 2008. Visit the society online at www.isasc.org.  

Bob Jibben began collecting analytic scales about 20 years ago. Today his collection includes egg scales, grain scales and weights. Contact him at (612) 925-1386; e-mail: rmjibben@hotmail.com.