Lat. In Roman law. The sale per aes ef libram (with copper and scales) was a ceremony used in transfer-ring res mancipi, in the emancipation of a son or slave, and in one of the forms of making a will. The parties having assem-bled, with a number of witnesses, and one who held a balance or scales, the purchaser struck the scales with a copper coin, repeat-ing a formula hy which he claimed the sub-ject-matter of the transaction as his property, and handed the coin to the vendor
Source: Black’s Law Dictionary 2nd Ed (1910)
