I know absolutely zilch about coin weights. It looks old but does not seem to be as intricate as other Byzantine weights I have seen. This was sold as Byzantine but I am not sure and asking for any information you may have. Bronze with silver inlay. 19mm x 19mm, 8.3gm. Regards, Charlie
It looks like a one Nomisma coin weight, but the weight is wrong and the N is not as square as most I have seen. The weights were used to check the weight of gold coins. The solidus (nomisma) had a weight of about 4.5 grams. A larger 2 Solidi should weigh 9.1 grams & have an inscription - NB
Apart from everything else, and emphasizing that I have no expertise whatsoever on objects like this, it looks too new. It simply doesn't look to me like it could be 1,000 years old. I admit that I've seen, say, ancient Chinese art in museums that's quite a bit more than 1,000 years old and looks like it was made last week, but it's just an instinctive feeling I have looking at your photos.
@DonnaML & @Alegandron I agree that it is not quite right. What bothers me most are the shape of the N and weight. A weight marked N should be about 4.55 grams +/- 25%. I have seen plenty of bronze items that have been cleaned to metal and repatinated. This weight could have been over cleaned by coin standards. I posted a 2 oz weight this week that was over cleaned and coated. The coating makes it hard to read. The width of the N may be a bit much also. I have a weight that looks like the silver was painted on much later (modern). Compare the two below.
A point against its being an early Scrabble tile is that it lacks a little X to denote the value in points of the Z