Russian State Arms, Libau, Customs Seal, Image & Found by Rob Crewe.
Found in Kent, ?mm.
Cyrillic script top and sides 17*93 / Ю Russian Arms T / ship's hull or key // blank
From Tanya Flow, "I think this seal is quite rare one, because here we used to see Russian custom seals from St. Petersburg or Archangel city. Your seal is from Libau (ЛИБАВА - 'Libava' in Russian those days). I didn't find Libau custom seals on Ged's collection, though the city is sometimes mentioned.
Here's how the description of the seal could be: Peace Havens Project, 'Obverse:- САHKT ПEТЕРБУРГ ПТ: / 17*98 /
Ю Russian Arms T (a symbol of a ship's hull or key)
SANKT PETERBURG PORT (St Petersburg Port) / 1798 /
Reverse:- is blank ... The reverse of these seals usually has a large double headed Russian State Arms.
When blank there is a Ю symbol on the Obverse .. a small Russian State Arms Symbol .. a T (TAMOЖHЯ) for Tax.'
From Wikipedia: 'Under Duke Jacob Kettler (1642–1681), Libau became one of the main ports of Courland as it reached the height of its prosperity... Courland passed to the control of the Russian Empire in 1795 during the third Partition of Poland and was organized as the Courland Governorate of Russia.'
The city was so called until 1920. Now it is Liepāja (pronounced [liepaːja], Latvia."
See Figs. 63a and b on page 61, Russian Cloth Seals in Britain: Trade, Textiles and Origins by John Sullivan.
"Seals bearing the arms of Russia, a double-headed eagle usually holding an orb and sceptre which is straddled or surmounted by the date, were used in an official capacity, mainly by the Customs Service." page 45. The seal described by Sullivan is somewhat smaller, 13 - 17mm, as opposed to 17 - 25mm and the three similar seals shown on this site are blank on the other side. These are probably 'sub-department' issue as Sullivan explains, "However, it is possible that some seals were issued by a sub-department of the Customs service, since the Russian government at different times held a monopoly on or were the sole exporters of certain goods from which they derived the tax. Some of the seals recovered in Britain might, therefore, have been attached to consignments of goods that fell that fell under the jurisdiction of State Customs such as potash, timber and leather. They are relatively few in number and bear no indication of their place of issue."
