Antique 1793 FIRE MARK NORWICH UNION England Copper? - NOT a reproduction.

Description

This is one of my best Fire Marks, in very good condition, looks like copper, a little heavier than my others, it's about 5-6 ounces
Industry
Insurance
company
Founded
Norwich
,
England
,
United Kingdom
(1797
; 224 years ago
)
Founder
Thomas Bignold
Defunct
1 June 2009
; 12 years ago
(merged into
Aviva
plc)
Headquarters
Norwich
,
United Kingdom
History of the British Fire Mark Plaques
For most of the 18th century, each insurance company maintained its own fire brigade, which extinguished fires in those buildings insured by the company and, in return for a fee to be paid later, in buildings insured by other companies. By 1825, fire marks served more as advertisements than as useful identifying marks; some insurance companies no longer issued fire marks, and those that did sometimes left them up after a policy had expired. Successive combinations of fire brigades led to virtually the entire city of London being put under the protection of the London Fire Engine Establishment, which fought not only the fires of policy holders but those of non subscribers, the reason being that fires in uninsured buildings could rapidly spread to insured buildings.