We are probably all familiar with the use of modern coins as adhoc scale bars in photographs of objects. A phenomenon so widespread, and accepted, that it is found in scientific journals as well as hurried snaps. We are also familiar with the use of coins as weights, either reflecting their expected weights in societies where they circulated, or re-used as weights once they had gone out of use as coinage. However, when spending a fun lunch hour taking part in the Early Modern Recipes Online transcribeathon last November I was intrigued to come across coins being used as a way to measure a quantity of ingredients, not by weight, but by area….
As much as will lay upon a sixpence – Laura Burnett
BNS Research Blog 
Another fascinating use of coins. Is it not possible that ‘the housewife’ or whoever was doing the cooking, would have retained small coins for measurement purposes, thereby contributing to the ‘shortage’ of small change?
Thanks for reading.
I can definitely believe they kept a nicely cleaned groat or sixpence to hand if it was needed in recipes and medicine they made or took often; and that would help with the standardised dose.
Groats and sixpences are a bit above the farthings and halfpennies we often think of when discussing the shortage of small change which is, to some extent, a longer term problem. There is a general problem with coin supply in the 17th century, although this is in part an issue of demand rather than supply. I suppose one point I was trying to make is we can over play the issue of the problem of money supply, yes there wasn’t as much as people wanted, or in the qualities they wanted, but apart from some crises points they weren’t going to struggle to lay a hand on a coin or two.
Thanks for your interesting article, it was a very unexpected reminder of a career in fluid mechanics and metrology, which also included the flow of solids (powders, grains, granules and fibres) in dry and wet flows (oil, water, gas and mixtures. There is a whole heap of fun (challenging) science in trying to predict the critical angle of repose of solids on a surface. In spite of the unreliable results, it is usually quicker to do the experiment when the exact value is less important than the repeatability.
The principle survives into today’s recipes where heaped teaspoons and tablespoons are still found.
As for the practicalities of heaping a powder on a coin and transferring it to the rest of the mix – it could get messy.