Cloth Seal, Company, 1707 - 1858, United East India

Cloth Seal, Company, United East India, Image by StuE, Found by Goretex
Found in Yorkshire, 35 x 27mm, 14.9g.

The company's mark consists of a 4 in the cleft of a heart with an E in the right section, a V above a C in the middle section and an I in the left section. The reverse is blank apart from what appears to be some contact impressions.

See Nos.294 & 4 Fig.38, Geoff Egan, Lead Cloth Seals and Related Items in the British Museum:-
"The Company was established under this name in 1708, and traded not only with India, but also with China and much of the rest of Asia, including the areas now comprising Malaysia and Indonesia. ... [The] figures probably refer to length/weight, or maybe consignment numbers."

The four main types of seals used by the company can be seen at D. Petts 2003 'Review of The Earl of Abergavenny. Historical Record and Wreck Excavation CD-Rom', Internet Archaeology 14.

Another example can be seen in the National Maritime Museum, Object ID ZBA0441.

See also p.209 - 211, Elton, S., Cloth Seals, An Illustrated Reference Guide to the Identification of Lead Seals Attached to Cloth: from the British Perspective, which includes MOL Z4092 showing the ridged cross with arms of England in first quarter that is often shown on the other side of these seals.

An interesting extension of the Company's privy mark into the field of Indian postage concerns the Scinde District Dawks - The Premier Stamps of Asia.