Cloth Seal, Privy Mark, GHBL, Image by Hoarder, Found by Club Member.
Found in Suffolk, 50mm.
Missing // privy mark consisting 4 on a heart containing saltire with G B L H in the quadrants (from top clockwise) // ridged cross obliquely counter-shaded, pierced mullet of 5 points between wings conjoined (a crown?) in the first quadrant // missing
Two disc from a four disc seal, the missing rivet and rove discs probably being much smaller in the manner of armorial seals. Possibly a company seal. See the United East India Company seals and other East India Company seals from National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, which state, "The design on the reverse shows a St George cross with the English shield of arms (the three lions of England diagonally impaled with the three fleurs de lys of France) in the upper left quadrant. On the front, which has residual traces of original gilding that probably covered the whole, the letters VEIC are set within a heart shape with the number 4 above. These seals were authenticating merchants marks on bolts or bales of cloth, being folded and clamped round a visible outer edge. The hinge here is at the bottom, two 'spikes' at top back having been pushed through the ring at top front and bent over to each side. This sandwich so formed here encloses a preserved fragment of cloth, probably wool though it has not been analysed, protected from the decay which the rest of the consignment suffered after the ship it was in sank. The obverse design is shown among those in No. 10 of a series of reference prints issued by Laurie and Whittle, 'Invoice marks for West India and American Merchants etc' published on 1 May 1801 (PAH7501). This print,however, has a X within the heart as a letter separator rather than the 'reversed brackets' used here, and a U rather than a sculptural V for 'United', so may be a later version. These seals were made by Pennington, Pendleton and others, this one being recovered from the wreck site of an unidentified merchantman circa 1780-1815 in the South Edinburgh Channel, Thames Estuary, in 1975. Other items in the Museum from the same wreck include: REL0628-0689, REL0769-0771, ZBA0439-0445. Date made circa 1780-1800."
A Dictionary of Suffolk Crests: Heraldic Crests of Suffolk Families By Joan Corder, John Blatchly, gives the family Spurling of Great Cornard, Burgh and Stratford as having arms consisting of "A mullet of six points Or between two wings conjoined and displayed Argent." Although this description does not mention piercing and adds an extra point to the mullet, the location of its find spot adds weight to a possible connection.
It maybe that the Spurling family was a part of a company with the above merchant mark and the arms in the first quadrant were there to distinguish their goods from those of other company members.