Dayton/Hobart Computing Scale  Barrel-top platform

This porcelain-coated, barrel-top price computing scale is near the end of an era for the Dayton brand. It has a typical 30-pound (13.6 kg) capacity and is labeled as Style 6663, serial number 1159749. There is a slide-out glass window on the customer side that allowed the message to be changed by the merchant.

The Computing Scale Company, Dayton, Ohio, had gone through several changes, and this example is by the Dayton Scale Division of The Hobart Manufacturing Company. Hobart bought Dayton Scale Co. from IBM in 1934. A few years later, the Dayton name disappeared.

Patent dates are 1926–1929. Therefore, it was made after the 1934 Hobart purchase and 1943. One can also roughly date barrel-top scales by the height of the price-barrel. Over time, the barrel got lower, like this example where it is barely above the platform; however, by the late 1930s, the newest models had the barrel under the platform (normally called the “tray”).  

These old scales were exceptionally durable. This example has Missouri certification stickers from 1960, 1967, and 1989―still accurate after 50 years.

©ISASC. Photo license: CC BY-NC 4.0