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

Cloth Seal, United East India Company, Image & Found by Derfel.
Found on the London Foreshore.

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. This one has the date 1802 beneath. The reverse has what looks to be the number 1 above the letter R. There are also some scratched marks next to the number 1 of a type common on cloth seals.

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."

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 one 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.