History of the Pocket Scale by My Weigh

The 200 year old Mini Pocket Scale


	The History of the Pocket Scale The mini Pocket Scale became popular in America during the Gold Rush years of California (1848-1855)and the Klondike Region. Gold Miners and prospectors needed a scale that they could easily carry with them to weigh their gold. Before that, pocket scales were mostly used to reload muskets / bullets. Above is a picture of one of the best early pocket scales ever created. You can easily see how this simple design led into the current Accugem pocket scales and even into the design of the ultra-modern Palmscale. This scale above is in the My Weigh museum and STILL WORKS PERFECTLY. We hope that 150 years from now a collector will have My Weigh pocket scales in his museum, the same way that we have 150 year old "Prospector" pocket scales in ours. Civil War Pocket Scales Pocket scales were also used by doctors and soldiers during the American Civil War. This is a picture of a famous DR. FITCH'S POCKET SCALE. It reads 5g x 0.01g and still works fine today. It was originally created in 1860 and found popularity in the Confederacy. When the Union overtook Virginia (where these scales were made), the scales were produced for the Union army. This style of pocket scale was later perfected and patented in 1885. Interesting enough, we know that if we were to remake this pocket scale exactly as it was in 1885, it would still be a viable product. In some ways, scales have progressed tremendously over the years. However the classic mechanical pocket scale is still a very popular product. Our Current Accugem 2 is mechanically and visually based on this 1885 pocket scale. More Civil War Era pocket Scales with tool Here is another Civil War era pocket scale. This mini scale had a capacity of 10g and read in 0.02g increments. It came complete with a scoop and tool (not unlike the current Palmscale & Flipscale). It only makes logical sense to pack some user-friendly tools with the scale and the early Americans were no stranger to marketing :) Early European Pocket Scales This hanging style pocket scale is circa 1600. If you look at our current "Hand Scales" you will be amazed at how close they are to this antique Italian pocket scale with Roman design.