Antique & Modern Nail age and history questions & answers.

This article series describes antique and modern cut nails focusing on hand wrought and cut nails used in wood frame construction or interior finishing or carpentry work.

 

FAQs on Finding the Age of Nails

These questions & answers about determining the age of nails and other building hardware were posted originally at the topic home page:

NAILS, AGE & HISTORY - home - be sure to review that article.

Also see the nail age determination questions and answers suggested

at NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY - use this key to guess at the age of your nail or spike

 

Reader question: What is this long spike with a slit in one end?

This was found approx.12” down while detectoring on our late 1700’s hill farm in Vermont. It is 21” long and around 1” square. There was so much built up corrosion on it when found it looked round. 2024-09-27 by Tom

Reply by moderator:

@Tom,

A very long spike like that was typically used in construction of barns or other post and being buildings.

The dimensions and uniformity of the shank with suggest that it was hand forged.

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY

https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

Offers some additional and in some cases a little more subtle clues that can help guess at the age of your spike.

Reader follow-up: riveted holding pin

Maybe HH in the diagram attached. As you mentioned in use of post and beam construction. I believe it was hand forged since it was found in the area of the blacksmith barn located on this hill farm.

https://www.cloverfieldspreservationfoundation.org/newsletters/2019/7/18/period-nails-and-scarf-joints
It does contain a slot.

Reply:

@Tom,

Yes that's a very good guess.

I didn't comment on it before because from just the image I was a bit uncertain, but it looked me as if the tip of the spike in your photo contained a slot that could have actually been an opening for the pin in the illustration of HH that that illustration's author called a "riveted pin holding summer beams together."

The slot is strong evidence supporting your, now our, guess.

For other readers, Tom is citing
Cloverfields as of July 2019: Period Nails Help Date Different Sections of the House and The Structural Frame is Repaired - July 25, 2019

The actual drawing of nail and spike types is from p. 264 in

Chappell, David A., “Hardware,” in Carson, Cary, and Carl R. Lounsbury, eds. The Chesapeake House: Architectural Investigation by Colonial Williamsburg. UNC P Books, 2013. 257-83.

Cloverfields is a historic home Constructed in the U.S. in Maryland by Philemon Hemsley between 1703 and 1705.

Here's a closer look at the slotted end of Tom's spike.

 

Reader question: Age and manufacture of this octagonal shanked nail

Thanks for all the info here. I found this nail in my pool in Flower Mound, TX. House built in 1993 and oldest in neighborhood is 1973 ish.

Lots of farmland too. Nail is 2" long and head is 9/16. No number imprint on head (thus not 1920 railroad nail). I can't see fiber direction either. Maybe 1830-1850 date? Thanks! 2024-05-08 by Adam

Reply by moderator: modern masonry nail: note the clinch marks under the head, the diamond pointed tip, round head, and flutes.

@Adam,

That's an interesting nail, but I think it's modern. I can't see all of the details, but I think the photo shows the following "modern" nail indicators:

1. Multiple parallel lines under the head where the nail was gripped in the nail machine to form the head

2. Nail shank is round

3. Nail tip is diamond pointed

I think the head is either round or round with a notch.

4. A nail like that one, with a fluted or grooved shaft is usually intended for use in masonry, and so that may explain ...

5. What looks like remnants of concrete or cement along the nail shank

Sorry for the comment box picture posting limitation, but you are absolutely welcome to post as many photos as you like - just one per comment, so you can use more comments to post more photos.

Daniel

Reader follow-up:

Thanks Daniel, The shank is octagonal, but you may have hit the nail on the head as we did have roof/chimney work done.

No notch in head though. Thanks!

Reply:

@Adam,

Excellent, thank you.

That might be a fairly old masonry nail, but all of its other features make it modern, it's basically a modified round shank that is referred to in the parlance as a wire nail meaning that the nails are cut from a length of machine fabricated wire.

Masonry nails are usually of a harder alloy as well as having flutes that give a resistance against bending as the nail is being driven into the hard masonry surface.

 

Reader question: square headed nail found while metal detecting

Found this square headed nail while metal detecting today but can’t find any types with the 90 degree angle at the end.

It seems to of been manufactured this was rather than having been bent. Any ideas please? 2023-10-14 by Tristan Cossey

Reply:

@Tristan Cossey,

Thank you so much for the great nail photo and interesting comment.

It's most likely that the angle bent at the end of that nail happened after its original manufacture.

Reader question: Sussex County, Delaware farm field reveals a long rusty spike

Can anyone give me some info on the picture below. I can't seem to find anything on this nail or spike. I found it in a Sussex County Delaware farm field. It is 8 sided and looks old. Looking for age and use.

Thanks for your help. JP 2023-09-24 J.P. McCormick

Reply:

@J.P. McCormick,

You will find our most complete advice on guessing age at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

In essence, when estimating the age, properties, use, and history of a nail, spike, or screw, we look at

1. the item itself for clues about how it was made, of what materials, and in some cases iron fibre direction that can bracket age of manufacture

2. contextual clues: what we know from surrounding materials, location, history of the area, etc.

Reader question: South Texas Victorian home used porcelain headed nails

These nails were found in an old Victorian Style house in South Texas in the 1970's. They are covered with paint. However the nail seems to be round with angled points. The porcelain or glass head screws onto the top of the nail vial threads. I have not been able to find any like them to date or evaluate them. Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated. 2023-09-23 by Elaine M Burcham

Reply by moderator:

@Elaine M Burcham,

Thank you for this great photo of this porcelain headed nail.

In this document

THE CUT NAIL INDUSTRY 1776-1890: TECHNOLOGY, COST ACCOUNTING AND THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY [PDF]
inspectapedia.com/interiors/Cut-Nail-Industry-Loveday-Dissertation-OSU.pdf

we find the reference to the 1873 American patent for “Richards Patent Porcelain-Headed Picture Nails"

A copy of that patent’s design and specs (originally retrieved on 9/23/2023 from https://patents.google.com/patent/US169921A/en) is found here

RICHARDS PORCELAIN HEADED PICTURE NAILS PATENT [PDF]
inspectapedia.com/interiors/Richards-Porcelain-Headed-Picture-Nails-Patent.pdf

This shows the design of nail you have described with the porcelain head being attached to a threaded shank.

I also found many references and images to this type of nail when I googled “antique nails with porcelain head” although these may be more modern reproductions.

Without any additional information about their age, we can’t say if your nails date to the 1970s that you mention or from an earlier time.

 

Spike found in river bed

I found it while walking. It was laying in a river bed. 2023-09-22 by Armandt

Reply:

@Armandt,

You will find our most complete advice on guessing age at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

When estimating the age, properties, use, and history of a metal fastener like a nail, spike, or screw, we look at

1. the item itself for clues about how it was made, of what materials, and in some cases iron fibre direction that can bracket age of manufacture

2. contextual clues: what we know from surrounding materials, location, history of the area, etc.

 

Reader question - Find the age of these old nails found near Amarillo Texas

I'm looking for information about some nails that where recovered from an old Quarry located near Amarillo in Potter County, Texas. The nails were used at what appeared to be a loading site and secured rough lumber that provided aggregate chutes for wagons and early trucks. Thank you, Jack On 2023-08-23 by Jack E. DeMuynck, Jr.

Reply by InspectApedia Publisher (mod) - nails found near Amarillo Texas Quarry

@Jack E. DeMuynck, Jr.,

Sure, glad to help. Here are some suggestions.

Those look like structural spikes, perhaps with hand-finished heads.

Take a close look at the upper shank markings: are those letters or clamp marks from a machine?

1. If we can assume that you have access to the nails in question, I suggest comparing the nail features, in detail, with the old nail features discussed above on this page.

2. Compare your nails with the nail features outlined also at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY, https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

3. Review the detailed history of the Amarillo Texas quarry and thus you'll have an idea of the types of buildings or other structures - for which you've already posed an interesting guess: chutes for loading wagons and trucks.

The nail size is probably the first clue to its probable use as it's easy to separate smaller nails that secured boards from larger spikes that would have been used in structures.

it's the note of hand-wrought features that you might find particularly interesting.

Where is the quarry about which you inquire?

Are you referring to the Alibates Flint Quarries - whose history is ancient - as well?

Or have you researched activities that gave Quarry Street its name? Quarry Street runs between Yucca Ave. and Cliffside Road, those intersecting North Western St. off of I 335 northwest of Amarillo.

Reader follow-up - Clamp marks on my nails + research on location where old nails are found yields information

They are clamp marks. Can you give an estimate when they may have been made? Thank you, Jack

The quarry they came from I suspect was an early cement aggregate, perhaps lime extraction site. The town it may have supported Amarillo, Texas was established around the turn of the 19th century.

Thanks for the reply. I'll work at getting you a Google earth location. You've done good research.

...

Location as found on Google Earth: Latitude 35.2289732 Longitude -101.919184

Again thanks for your interesting work. Next time I'm in the area I plan to research deeds and newspapers circa 1900. Jack

Reply:

@Jack E. DeMuynck, Jr.,

That's interesting indeed and it's a nice example of doing a little bit of leg work to add context that's helpful when we're trying to understand the age and history of an antique nail or other fastener.

Added comments: the straight, not-tapered shank and those large indentations that you confirm are clamp marks all argue for a early hand-forged spike.

The procedure commonly included clamping the forged shank into a vise in order to permit hand hammering to form the shank head. You should see that the heads on spikes in this set are each a bit different.

To keep us posted on what else you find

 

Question - identification of an old rusty square-shanked spike From Cape Cod MA

Look what I found!

On 2023-08-12

Reply:

@From Cape Cod MA,

nice old rusty nail or spike - interesting that it's more rusted in mid-shank than at head or tip. Might tell something of its use and history. and certainly suggests hand forging.

 

Reader question - Square nail found on early colonial site, not iron

I found a square nail on early colonies site it is not ferrous I suppose it's made of copper by the color can you please estimate the age, thank you 2023-07-20 by Paulo PS

Reply by InspectApedia DF (mod) - nail found at early Colonial site

@Paulo PS,

Our best and most complete advice are in the steps given at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
(live link in the Recommended Articles list on this page)

In essence, when estimating the age, properties, use, and history of a metal fastener like a nail, spike, or screw, we look at

1. the item itself for clues about how it was made, of what materials, and in some cases iron fibre direction that can bracket age of manufacture

2. contextual clues: what we know from surrounding materials, location, history of the area, etc.

 

Reader question - unusual UK Riverbank nail has thick tall square head

Hello Can you please take a look at the attached photo. I found it on a river bank in the UK . It is 5 inches long and feels like wood definitely not metal. It’s an impressive nail and I would like to know where it may have come from and how old it is. Thank you On 2023-07-08 by Tina F

Reply by InspectApedia Publisher (mod) - Nail from U.K. Riverbank

@Tina F,

That's certainly an unusual "nail" with that thick squared head and flat-sided tapered shank. It looks to me like bronze, not wood, but of course we've got just a photo to go-on.

The point is sharp and tapered to be driven - that would not be characteristic of wooden peg or treenail such as we describe in several links given above on this page where we discuss tree-nails or "treenails" and wooden pegs.

Try scratching on one side to see if you expose brighter metal.

 

Question - age of an old 15-inch nail

Anyone know any info please..about 15 inches long On 2023-06-22 by Matt M

Reply:

@Matt M,

You will find our most-complete advice on guessing age at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

In essence, as you’ll read there, when estimating the age, properties, use, and history of a metal fastener like a nail, spike, or screw, we look at

1. the item itself for clues about how it was made, of what materials, and in some cases iron fibre direction that can bracket age of manufacture

2. contextual clues: what we know from surrounding materials, location, history of the area, etc.

 

Nail patent by inventor Edwin Page, US Patent No. 325859 for a stepped nail design

I recently acquired a nail patent by inventor Edwin Page, patent number 325859. It's for a stepped nail design as shown in the attached image. Does anyone know if these nails were every actually produced and used? On 2023-06-10 by David Fox

Reply: split resistant nail patent by Page

@David Fox,

Thank you for the question and the reference to the 1885 Page patent.

For other readers, you can see this patent disclosure also at

Page Edwin K., NAIL, [PDF] U.S. Patent No. 325,859., September 8, 1885.

Excerpt:

My invention relates to the wedge-shaped nail in common use by builders, ordinarily cut from a plate, and two of its sides parallel, with the other two sides slightly tapering; and it has for its object to produce a nail which may be driven indiscriminately with either its parallel or tapering sides at right angles with the grain of the wood without splitting;

and it consists in forming a series of cutting-teeth on the two opposite and tapering sides of the nail, sides parallel with the grain, the cutting-teeth will sever the grain and form a passage for the nail, preventing the splitting of the wood;

and my invention further consists in the formation of the nail with such cutting-teeth and Figs. 4 and 5 are views showing mode, it shows an elevation of the nail in common use. with parallel sides between the cutting-teeth, so that the back of the teeth may be support ed, and so the wood will press more closely against the sides of the nail after it has been driven.

Interestingly this patent was cited almost 100 years later in

Schroeder, Norman, Irving Ahlbeck III, Bradley Schroeder, and Steven Stanwick. "Fluted nail." U.S. Patent 4,781,508, issued November 1, 1988.

We have not found records of the production of the Page patented nail but I have seen some cut nails with barbs and staggered edges, two of Page's designs, and certainly the idea of modifying the nail shank to improve its withdrawal resistance was extended to many modern nails such as the ring-shank on drawn wire nails.

Let's keep alert for these Page nails showing up in antique structures.

 

Reader question - Date for old brass nail found on Whitstable beach

Hi, found this on the beach in Whitstable, would love to know a rough date. It’s material I believe is brass On 2023-05-27 by Penny

Reply: getting down to brass tacks age

@Penny,

Our most complete advice on guessing age is at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY

https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

In essence, as you'll read there, when estimating the age, properties, use, and history of a metal fastener like a nail, spike, or screw, we look

1. at the item itself for clues about how it was made, of what materials, and in some cases iron fibre direction that can bracket age of manufacture

2. at contextual clues: what we know from surrounding materials, location, history of the area, etc.

Continuing: is that a round nail shank that we see in your photo? If so this is a relatively modern nail, not a hand forged one.

Question - Date for a UK Garage using round flat headed nails

I am trying to date a garage in the UK. There is an argument it is 1930s, however looking at the timber specialists think much later. Here is a picture of the roofing nails used for the clay tiles, could anyone shed some light on the potential date? 2023-05-15 by David Walsh

Reply: modern wire nails were first produced in the 1850s

@David Walsh,

Galvanized roofing nails were certainly around in the 1930s in the UK.

As you can read above in this article, modern wire nails such as yours were first produced in the 1850s. Beyond that, in order to more accurately date your building, you'll need to look at other contextual clues.

Many of these are listed above in the section titled: Supporting Information to Estimate the Age of a Nail

This article series, with many of the live links listed above in the Recommended Articles list, explores further the age of nails and hardware.

You may be interested in the History of Nails in the U.K. section found in the article titled:

NAIL & HARDWARE, AGE RESEARCH

Age of 6 7/8" long nails - look modern

Hi -- Got these at an estate sale. I was wondering if they are early machine cut nails. They sure feel great in the hand.

Here is a picture of the heads. These are 6-7/8" long. 2023-05-08 by Cameron T.

...

Reply:

@Cameron T.,

Yes, though some of them have earlier style heads added as a separate step.

"Machine" includes hand-operated machinery.

I may be mistaken but to me [DF] your closeup photo of nail heads looks like a different collection. Newer.

I think I see parallel ribs across the nail shank close to the underside of the nail-head. Those would be grip marks from "modern" nail making machinery that has been in use for the last 100 years.

Reader question - how old is my UK settle with timber nails?

Is it possible to estimate the age of our UK settle with timber nails? On 2023-04-07 by Anonymous

Reply: wooden pegs alone can't date a bit of furniture

@Anonymous,

While treenails and wooden pegs may be used in building construction and window and door construction or in the construction of furniture as well even in modern buildings, usually that's certainly before 1900.

In fact in my workshop in New York in the 1980s I built a reproduction of a Shaker one-drawer side table that used only wooden pegs in its construction - there is not one bit of metal in the assembly. So wooden pegs alone can't date a bit of furniture.

The range of use by geography and time is in my opinion so broad that we need to add contextual clues when guessing building or UK settle age rather than just looking at one component.

Those clues are given starting at

AGE of a BUILDING, HOW to DETERMINE - home

(live link below in Recommended Articles list)

Perhaps you can post further photos such as of other hardware, saw cuts or marks on lumber or timbers, type of framing connection, and other building features that we describe there.

Question - is this squarish head spiral nail modern or antique?

Is this modern or antique? The head is not perfectly round and squarish On 2023-03-31 by Steve

Reply: modern, machine-made, spiral nail

@Steve,

That's a modern, machine-made, spiral nail.

The spiral is intended to improve withdrawal resistance.

It looks as if much of the nail head has rusted away.

 

How old is this 8-inch rusty spike found at Brighton UK beach

Found whilst metal detecting on the beach in Brighton UK. It's 8" long. Any ideas please? On 2023-03-19 by Lesleyburdetttaylor

Reply:

@Lesleyburdetttaylor,

You will find our most complete advice on guessing age at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
(live link below in Recommended Articles list)

where we discuss clues from the nail itself as well as the use of contextual clues.

 

Reader question - is this a nail or a spike from the Staten Island NY Conference House?

Is this a nail or spike . How old can it be found it on the beach front the conference house Staten Island NY On 2023-02-21 by Al Diaz

Reply:

@Al Diaz,

Please see our reply to reader Jenn D just below. There we give the link where we have our best and most complete advice on dating this type of hardware.

Note our discussion there about iron fiber direction, size, and other contextual clues.

This nail/spike found in a park looks more like a tack, with letters on its head

Hi, I came across this nail/spike in a park. You have any idea of its time period 2023-02-18 by Jenn D

Reply: use contextual clues to help determine age of hardware

@Jenn D,

Let's see a magnified sharp photo of the lettering on the round head of that tack. That might let us identify its manufacturer.

Our best and most complete advice are in the steps given at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
(live link below in Recommended Articles list)

In essence, as you’ll read there, when estimating the age, properties, use, and history of a metal fastener like a nail, spike, or screw, we look at

1. the item itself for clues about how it was made, of what materials, and in some cases iron fiber direction that can bracket age of manufacture

2. contextual clues: what we know from surrounding materials, location, history of the area, etc.

 

Age of an old nail found in mossy peatland

Hi, can you help me identify these nails that I found on a moss/peatland.

Regards, davidhuddy@hotmail.com 2023-02-15 by David Huddy

Reply:

@David Huddy,

You will find our most complete advice on guessing age at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
(live link below in Recommended Articles list)

Where we discuss paying attention to various contextual clues to help learn more about it.

Date this nail from a slate roofed Baltimore MD Farmhouse

This nail came out of a piece of slate on an old farmhouse roof in Northern Baltimore county, MD. it measures just over 2 3/4 inches. I am wondering about dating. Thank you. 2023-02-03 by Verena

Reply: nail from a piece of slate on an old farmhouse roof in Northern Baltimore County, MD

@Verena,

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY - use this key to guess at the age of your nail or spike. [live link above] will be of some help

Consider that the nail taper is uniform, then look for burrs on its edges and compare those with the notes in the key I gave above.

 

What are the type & age of this 4 1/2" long rusty spike

Is this too corroded or could you make an educated guess as to the type/age of this spike? It's got a flat (spade) point and is about 4.5" in length.

On 2023-01-31 by Katie -

Reply: signs of hand forging on antique iron spike

@Anonymous,

The spike tip looks hand forged

Treasure Coast, Florida four sided tip round shanked nail/spike found in driftwood

Views of 10” nail. 3/4 round head. 4 sided pointed tip, round shank. Found in driftwood on Treasure coast.

Really wondering a specific age range. Not just modern nail.

On 2023-01-14 by Lenny -

Reply: spike found embedded in driftwood

@Lenny,

If I'm reading your photo correctly, that nail has a quite round shank and a diamond pointed tip. That'd make it a "modern" wire-drawn nail not an antique hand-forged one.

What's this long brass rod found on a SCUBA dive off Massachusettts?

Hoping to figure out when this ship spike would have been made. Recovered in a dive off Massachusetts.

On 2023-01-06 by Mark -

Reply: structural rod from dive off of Massachusetts

@Mark,

That's a beautiful find but I don't think I would consider it a nail or a spike it looks more like a structural rod.

 

Nail found in old stone wall in Massachusetts

Found in very old stone wall ? Any ideas? Located in Massachusetts

On 2021-11-01 by CanalKid -

Reply:

We can't see enough to offer much, Canal, but I think that's a round-shanked nail described in the nail key found in our page bottom recommended articles on nail identification - NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY - use this key to guess at the age of your nail or spike

 

Age of 3-inch long nail with round upper shank?

I am hoping to identify this nail. It is 3 inches long with a head dia of 9/16". The upper part of the shank is round, and the lower part is forged to a rectangle with a chisel point. There is a 'W' forged into the countersunk head.

What is its purpose, and how old is it please? - 2021-10-29 by Steve Campbell-Wright

Reply:

@Steve Campbell-Wright,

The round upper shank of your nail makes it a modern fastener.

Be sure to see the nail ID and age tips given at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY - use this key to guess at the age of your nail or spike

Could cut nails have appeared in Duncan Creek at gold rush sluice boxes?

My grandfather and his siblings and parents were part of the Klondike gold rush, 1898-1904. He wrote in a newspaper, decades later, about his father's mining group, “While on the prospecting trip the party went into the Duncan Creek area which later became the fabulously wealthy Keno Hill and Mayo country.

Here they found sluice boxes nailed with nails that had been cut rather than moulded.

This indicated prospectors had been in that area in the early ‘70’s and ‘80’s – long before the Klondike strike in 1896."

Do you have any idea if this statement has merit? And do you know what types of nails would have been used during the 1896-1899 timeframe in Yukon Territory, vs. earlier than that?
Thank you! - On 2021-10-19 by Jason M Gould -

Reply: early machine-cut nails made by 1790

@Jason M Gould,

Above courtesy of Phillips (1993) is an illustration of the 1814 Reed Cut Nail Machine patent, found in the patent infringement lawsuit papers in Oiome v. Amesbury Nail Factory (1819) at the regional office of the National Archives, Waltham MA.

It certainly has merit. Nails were cut from forged blanks, even by hand-operated machines at least from the early 1800s and possibly as early as 1790. (How, 2018 & How, 2009 ) (Phillips, 1993).

Cut nails were valuable, and in addition to being made by small hand operated machines would have been imported from England, from France, and perhaps also made further West in the U.S. or shipped to that coast.

That is to say it's more-likely that nails used to build gold mining apparatus, sluices, etc. would have been imported from more-remote larger cities where nail fabricators were already established.

Phillips notes that

By 1788, Adam Rogers, of Marshfield, had developed a machine that "cut nails from hoops or plates," and by 1792 his nephew, Samuel Rogers, was cutting nails "by hand in a small machine invented by him.

When cut from nail plate, the nails produced by the hand-operated machines would probably have had characteristics similar to those of nails manufactured a few years later, but with less refinement.

The earliest cut nails would have had shanks with two tapering and two parallel sides and burrs on diagonally opposite edges (having been cut from the same side of the nail plate), like their later cousins.

However, because of the crude, somewhat uncalibrated method of cutting, the shanks in cross-section would probably have appeared as skewed rectangles or parallelograms, rather than true rectangles (Fig. 2).

The nails would have had rounded ends (from the edge of the nail plate) and were probably initially hand-headed, sometimes with faceted rose or "T" heads found on wrought nails, other times the upper end simply bent over to produce a brad.

Eventually, crude heading machines may have been used.

Followup by Jason M Gould

@danjoefriedman, thank you!

When did the moulded (molded?) nails become popular then?

Reply: When did the moulded (molded?) nails become popular ?

@Jason M Gould,

I'm not sure what you mean by molded nails, but if you mean round wire nails, their history is included in the page above.

Age of shipwreck nails found in the Philippines

@inspectapedia.com.moderator,

Can you identify what metal been used on these nails. My brother found these on unknown wooden shipwreck buried in the sand along the shore in the Philippines. - On 2021-10-15 by Christian Manalo

Reply:

@Christian Manalo,

To get a general idea of the composition of those tacks or small nails

1. use a magnet - to see if they're iron or steel vs. perhaps brass or another non-magnetic metal

2. scrape the surface to see if you observe shiny brass or copper

From just the photo they look like galvanized iron

Age of iron with a nail or peg in Scotland near a harbour

I found this piece of iron with nail in. Is it possible to date/name this type of nail please. Found near harbour in Scotland/UK

- 2021-09-13 by Sue

Reply:

@Sue,

What I can see in the photo is a four-sided iron fastener, not necessarily a nail, and as you say it's embedded in a piece of iron strapping, it could have been a bolt. I can't offer a more-useful comment;

But at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY - use this key to guess at the age of your nail or spike

https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

you will see that we provide a list of questions that you can try to answer that give what I call contextual information about your metal find that can help guess at its use and history.

Age of old nail found in garden, the Hague in the The Netherlands

Hi - I found the nail shown in the attached image in a friend's garden in The Hague in the The Netherlands. Any information about its history would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

- On 2021-08-30 by Andrew Wills -

Reply: bronze nail found in a garden in The Hague in the The Netherlands

Thank you for the photo.

Very nice; looks like brass or copper; am I right?

A bulbous headed tack / nail of matchstick size might have been used where its head was left exposed to view, such as a decorative nail in a door or other building feature; smaller gauge tacks with decorative heads also show up on upholstered furniture.

Any information about the history of the specific site in the Hague might give us more clues.

To go WAY back you might enjoy seeing

Butler, J.J., BRONZE AGE METAL and AMBER in the NETHERLANDS [PDF] University of Groningen Library, Netherlands, retrieved 2021/08/30 original source: https://ugp.rug.nl/Palaeohistoria/article/download/24902/22350

@Andrew Wills, here's an excerpt from a photo of a wooden door with metal decorations that might include bronze bulb-headed short nails.


In addition to all the information about old nails on this page, I encourage you to see the information and examples at the following articles:

Antique Nail Age & History FAQs Q&A on Nails as Indicators of ...
inspectapedia.com/interiors/Age-of-Nails-FAQs.php

and

Age and History of Antique Nails
https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

Looking for an original box of raisin head nails

looking for an original box of raisin head nails don't need the nails just the box! - On 2021-07-29 by Leslie Weyhrich

Reply:

@Leslie Weyhrich,

Show us a photo of raisin head nails and tell us what you can about the product - that may help locate the box you want.

Age and use of these old hand made nails found on a beach

I found these recently on 2 separate beach walks. They look handmade but I'm not sure what I have here. Any ideas? 2021-07-09 by Beck

Reply:

@Beck,
Thank you for the interesting photos and for your question. We can’t see enough nor do we have any other contextual information to say more than there appear to be a couple iron fragments. With respect to age, there are some clues in the article above.

Also see:
AGE AND HISTORY OF ANTIQUE NAILS
https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

Age of an old farmhouse determined by this nail?

Hi! Wondering if you all might be able to help me determine the age of an old farmhouse I’m currently working on. I have managed to pull one of the original nails out without damaging the nail too much.

Please take a look at the image and let me know if you have any idea. Thanks! On 2021-07-06 by Whitney Tomlin

Reply:

@Whitney Tomlin,
In addition to all the information about old nails on this page, take a look at the following page and its easy questions to help determine nail age:

Age and History of Antique Nails
https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

You may also enjoy examples from other readers' 'finds' at:

Antique Nail Age & History FAQs
inspectapedia.com/interiors/Age-of-Nails-FAQs.php

 

Nails found on roof of 1901 home - what are these?

We are doing a roof to a house that got finished in 1905 the rumor is the house started being built in 1901 there has been only 2 people to own the place.

We found a few of these nails it looks like the same style nails in the picture that says they are vintage can someone help me to see what kinda nails these are? On 2021-07-02 by Anonymous

Reply:

@Anonymous,

Sure, in NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY - use this key to guess at the age of your nail or spike take a look at the description of cut nails

Thank you to our readers for their generous comments:

On 2020-06-12 by Bob Dees

Thank you very much for your time, effort and great research, and attention to detail !

On 2020-06-14 - by (mod) -

Bob

Thank you so much for the nice note; we work hard on this material so I'm really grateful when readers find it useful.

 

...

Continue reading at NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see AGE OF NAILS - FAQs-2 for more questions & answers about determining the age of nails.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• AGE of a BUILDING, HOW to DETERMINE - home
• DOOR HARDWARE AGE
• NAILS, AGE & HISTORY - home
• HORSESHOE & HORSESHOE NAIL AGE
• NAIL & HARDWARE, AGE RESEARCH
• NAIL & HARDWARE CLEAN-UP
• NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY - use this key to guess at the age of your nail or spike
• NAIL ID & AGE: CUT NAILS
• NAIL ID & AGE: HAND FORGED NAILS
• NAILS in BARTER & TRADE
• NAIL SPLITS & CRACKS vs AGE
• NAIL TYPE, ANTIQUE, IDENTIFICATION KEY
• RAILROAD SPIKES
• RAILROAD SPIKE AGE - CONTEXTUAL CLUES
• SAW & AXE CUTS, TOOL MARKS, AGE
• WINDOW HARDWARE AGE

Suggested citation for this web page

NAILS & HARDWARE, AGE FAQs at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING AGE

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