Cloth Seal, George I, Alnage, 1714 onward, Image & Found by Paul A Banks.
Found ?, ?mm.
Blank // head facing right, GEORGIVS REX around // 4 1/2 / lion rampant // partial RWR monogram
A complete four disc alnage seal from the reign of George I. The 4 1/2 above the lion signified the alnage subsidy fee of 4 1/2d. The monogram is from the reign of William III, still being used by the alnager to close the seal, see below.
See P.64, Endrei, W. and Egan, G. 1982. ‘The sealing of cloth in Europe, with special reference to the English evidence’, Textile History, 13, 47-75. :-
"A stamp with a crowned royal cypher was sometimes used from the reign of William III onwards to close the outer lobes, though more frequently these simply have the rivet hammered flat without any device; (symptoms, perhaps, of an increasingly impersonal and perfunctory operation of the alnage, as searchers found the volume of production irreconcilable with proper examination). A number of the dies used for stamping the royal cyphers remained in use subsequent to the reign they indicate; for example William III cyphers were employed to close seals stamped on the inner lobes with the head of George I."
