FORUM

I was in Honfluer, Normandy last week and saw this lovely personal weight scale still doing service in the open air, middle of the old town. I have no idea of the date but if pre war I bet it could tell a tale or two (before BP makes a comment it was not "speak your weight"). German occupation, D day landings, the Caen salient, one of the first towns liberated in 1944. Nice to think it saw it all and survived. Interesting that it has no visual readout at all, only a printed card. I wonder what price I could have bought it for?

I actually emailed Seca scales in Hamburg to see if they had any info on this scale and today I got a reply. They tell me the company was totally destroyed in the war (not surprising) and most records were destroyed as well BUT they do know of just one other like this and its in their museum in Hamburg. It is also still working. The model was made in 1928! So over 90 years old and still going strong outdoors, amazing. It needs to be bought and preserved.

I found this one in Bayeux just 10 miles down the road from the first one, outside a chemist shop, also standing outdoors and working perfectly. Must surely have been supplied by the same salesman 90 years ago, and the makers thought the only one left was in their museum.

Both the scales are probably operated by either a coin op machine operator or scales etc. firm that has a number of such machines still on location. They would have a supply of blank cards and replace these when clearing the machine's coin box.

These machines don't need to be "bought" or restored. These are still working, as are the hundreds of century old Salter Everitt British weighing machines (dial scales not ticket printer type) that are still operated in Australia and elsewhere by an Australian weighing machine operator.

There were ticket printer scales operated in Australia, Myers department store in Melbourne had one. The illustrations are of a ticket printer that belonged to a Melbourne collector and two Salter Everitt scales.

These machines don't need to be "bought" or restored

I disagree,one day these will be scrapped without warning and lost forever