Korbwiegen

Korbwiegen is a historical term in German-language sources describing a weighing method that used baskets as the container for goods in market transactions. The word combines Korb (basket) and wiegen (to weigh), and it appears in regional descriptions of rural trade practices in Central Europe from the early modern period into the 19th century.

In the Korbwiegen system, baskets served as both container and, in some cases, a rough measure. Weighing could be done with a balance scale, where a basket of produce was placed on one side and either fixed weights or a reference basket on the other. In some local traditions, baskets of a defined capacity—often regulated by municipal or village ordinances—functioned as a standard unit, allowing traders to estimate or verify amounts without a full set of weights for every transaction.

Procedures varied by locality. Some records describe merchants quickly comparing baskets of goods to known standards, while others describe more formal serial weighing to confirm the quantity. The approach was particularly common for perishables sold in small market towns, where speed and flexibility were advantageous.

Decline and legacy come with the broader standardization of weights and measures in the 19th and early 20th centuries, along with the adoption of metric weights and regulated scales. Today, Korbwiegen is primarily a feature of historical and regional studies, illustrating how local practices adapted to market needs before full standardization.

See also: Weighing scales, standard measures, market regulation.