Cloth Seal, Alnage, Image & Found by Jon Cooper.

Description	:	A complete two-piece lead alnage seal of the early 18th century. The obverse shows the bust of Queen Anne facing left, and has the legend MAG BRI REGINA. The reverse has a double rose with the figure 8 above. The 'alnage' was a tax levied on cloth, and the purpose of the alnage seal was to provide evidence that the tax had been paid and the cloth was legally saleable. The seals were applied by officials ('alnagers') appointed by the Crown to oversee the process. It is likely that the figure 8 on the reverse of the present seal indicates that the tax in this case was eight pence. The alnage, which had been levied since medieval times, was finally abolished in 1724. However, although this marked the end of their use for taxation purposes, lead cloth seals continued to be used for quality control purposes until the 19th century. (this information courtesy of Rod Blunt UK Detector Finds Database se) see UKDFD Ref. No. - 2824