Number by catalogue:  Michel: 2102   Yvert: 2188   Gibbons: 2141  

Perforation type: 13 ¾x13 ½

Subject:

63 pences.

Rotary Quern*. Found near the site of La Hougue Bie**. 1st Century B.C.

Additional:

*Quern-stones are stone tools for hand-grinding a wide variety of materials. They are used in pairs. The lower, stationary, stone is called a quern, while the upper mobile stone is called a muller or handstone. The central hole is called the hopper and a handle slot enables the handstone to be rotated. They were first used in the Neolithic era to grind cereals into flour.

The upper stones were usually concave whilst the lower was convex. Quern-stones are frequently identifiable by their grooved working surfaces which enabled the movement of flour. Sometimes a millrind was present as a piece of wood (or other material), which allowed the cereal etc to be added but still acted as a centering device. The upper stone sometimes had a cup-shaped area around the hopper hole with a raised edge. Most handstones have a handle hole on the upper surface, however one class of quern-stones have a slot handle which indicates that a piece of wood was placed horizontally and protruded out from the edge so that the operator could turn the stone by standing and using a rod vertically. One class of upper quern-stones has from two to three sockets for the rod used to turn them and this is thought to reflect the need to reduce wear and tear by having alternative points of contact when in active use.

Quern-stones have been used by numerous civilizations throughout the world to grind materials, the most important of which was usually grain to make flour for bread-making. They were generally replaced by millstones once mechanised forms of milling appeared, particularly the water mill and the windmill, although animals were also used to operate the millstones. However, in many non-Westernised, non-mechanised cultures they are still manufactured and used regularly and have only been replaced in many parts of the world in the last century or so.

Topics: Mortars and grinding stones Various