Belgian, E R, Edward Remy Seal, Image by StuE, Found by Saxonman
Found near Tolleshunt Major, Essex, 20mm.
Both sides have a circular border of pellets, one possibly with a crown at the top and ER in the centre, the other probably with a quadrafoil at the top and O in the centre.
The O suggests it is a flour bag seal, flour used to be categorised into '00', '0', '1' and '2' grades, '00' being the finest and whitest and working down to the almost wholemeal grade '2' flour.
From Mark Ouwerkerk, De “ER” verzegelloodjes, "Seals with the initials “ER” and a thick pearl rim are regularly found in the border region of the Netherlands and Belgium. Quality markings such as “0”, “I”, “II” and “III” are printed on the reverse of these leads. In the Netherlands this is not so common because there people mainly use “0”, “00” and “000”. From this I drew the preliminary conclusion that the leads probably came from a Belgian manufacturer.
The thick pearl rim also caught my attention. That is because it is quite striking and perhaps I could trace the company through other weights with a pearl edge as well.
Via Bagseal.org I then found three leads from Leuven from the Hungaria Moulins (1889) by the manufacturer Gilles Peters with a similar pearl rim. They look a lot like the “ER” seals, but are not exactly the same.
A nice article has been written about the company of Gilles Peters on TESTAVZW.BE: It unravels the initials 'GP' on the seals of the company HUNGARIA from Leuven.
Through the extensive scientific document “In de Ban van Ceres” published by the Flemish Institute for Immovable Heritage, I subsequently found out that opposite the main mill was another company, that of Remy. Could the R of Remy possibly be the R of "ER"? Most likely yes! The founder of this company is Edouard Remy, a very well-known industrialist from that period. So "ER"!
The company Remy still exists and is located in Wijgmaal near Leuven (wikipedia Remy). Founded in 1855, this company is one of the world's largest producers of rice starches. As mentioned, it was founded by Edward (Edouard) Remy (1813-1896). He bought a watermill on the Dyle in 1855 and built up his business from there. Around 1900 the company expanded and a branch was established on the Leuven-Dijle canal, this location is still the headquarters. As a company, Remy is mainly concerned with everything you can do with rice. Remy's activities mainly focus on the following products: flour, starch, proteins, syrups, mixtures and glues.
It is striking that when you search for seals from Remy, you will not find any, at least not me. And that these leads would not exist is of course unlikely as this company is so old. The designer of the sealing lead is probably the same as that of the Moulains Hungaria, the company opposite Remy. That's why the two lines look so much alike.
I understand this isn't 100% conclusive.
Update:
Recently an "ER" lead came into my possession with the letters "CV" on the back instead of a quality indication. The company "Gebroeders Remy" was a CV from 1855, so that could explain these letters."
