I have two of them. The were indeed for verifying test equipment. Be fairly
careful with them, as they are old and becoming fragile. Use volt meter set
on a scale that will allow you to see 1 volt or more. They also make great
bookends, for light books....
p.s. I paid 50 cents apiece for mine....

bob in phx....
"Phil Nelson" wrote in message
...
Sounds like a bingo. There is an old piece of tape on the side of the case
on which someone wrote "1.01998 volts," followed some other tiny scribbles
which have been worn off.

Phil

"dale" wrote in message
...
[The "standard cell" is a saturated Weston cell, containing an electrode
of mercury in

contact with a paste of mercurous sulfate and an electrode of cadmium
amalgam in

contact with a saturated solution or cadmium sulfate. When little or no
current is drawn

from the cell, it produces a terminal voltage of long-term stability. The
precise value for

each cell is given on its label.]