Years ago, I read a story in which a character used the word Cosh to name a makeshift weapon that consisted of a hard weight in a sleeve or sock. I would like to use it in a story, but now can't find any reference to it in the Concise OED. However, the COED also lacks a reference for either blackjack or sap as clubs (lots of other meanings listed). I believe these are both American terms, which gives me hope that my memory of cosh is correct and that it, too, is American in origin. If so, I'd also like to know when it was coined (hopefully prior to 1853, the time of my story). For that matter, I'd like to know when blackjack was coined. Anyone out there with better resources than I?

Many thanks,
Dean