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Identifying thimbles

Sewing armour with centuries of manufacturing history in the dimples.

Thimbles turn up wherever people worked cloth. Medieval examples are typically cast copper alloy with hand-punched dimples, often in a spiral and sometimes stopping short of the crown ('beehive' and ring-type forms). Later thimbles are drawn or stamped from sheet, with mechanically regular knurling.

Look at the dimples: irregular, hand-punched pits in a drunken spiral suggest medieval or earlier; perfectly regular machine knurling means post-1700s. Steel-topped, silver, and decorated commemorative thimbles are 19th century onward. A heavy sewing ring with no crown may be a tailor's thimble.

Height, diameter, and dimple pattern are the useful measurements. These are humble but well-studied objects — describe the pattern honestly and a close date is usually possible.

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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