Identifying nails and fasteners

Hand-forged, cut, or wire — nails date buildings and wrecks better than you'd think.

Nails have three great families: hand-forged (square tapering shank on all four sides, hammered rosehead — everything before about 1800), machine-cut (rectangular shank tapering on two sides only, stamped head — 19th century), and wire nails (round shank, round head — roughly 1890 onward).

Section is everything: look at the shank end-on. Roman nails are hand-forged and can be massive; clench nails with diamond-shaped roves (washers) suggest boat or door construction; horseshoe nails have distinctive fiddle-key or bevelled heads.

A single nail proves little; a consistent assemblage speaks. Record shank section, head form, and length, and resist the urge to call every square nail Roman — hand-forging spans two millennia, and the humble nail deserves the same honest uncertainty as anything else.

From the guide library inside Collectors Catalogues, a free app for cataloguing antiques and finds with honest, museum-grade records.

More on metalwork

Identifying harness and horse fittings — Pendants, mounts, and buckles.

Identifying weights — Standardised mass, marked.

Identifying keys and locks — Bit, bow, and stem.

Identifying pins and needles — Head form and point.

Identifying mounts and fittings — Rivets, solder, and back.

Identifying buckles — The commonest metal-detecting find after coins — and surprisingly datable.

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