Guides › Metalwork

Identifying pins and needles

Head form and point.

Dress pins, hairpins, and sewing needles vary by head form and material — bone, copper alloy, or iron. Needles have an eye; pins a head. The head is the datable part: decorative bone pin heads change with fashion closely enough to date Roman examples by hairstyle alone.

Copper-alloy dress pins with wound-wire heads are the classic Tudor and Stuart find, lost by the thousand from clothing that was literally pinned together daily.

On needles, note whether the eye was punched or drilled and whether the shank is round or flattened — small details that separate periods and trades.

Wear at the point and polish from handling confirm use. Record length, material, and head form; a complete pin is a small object with a surprisingly precise date.

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 mounts and fittings — Rivets, solder, and back.

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

Identifying strap ends — The decorated tips of belts and straps, from Roman to Tudor.

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