Can anyone authoritatively explain to me the origin and meaning of the “penny” system in describing nails? (eg. 10 penny or 16 penny) I assume it had to do with the cost of a pound of these nails. How is it used today? Also, why are some nails named with a number and “D”? Thanks. Just curious.
Jay
Replies
The only bit I know is the "D" -- it's an abbreviation for "Penny" and comes from the Latin "Denari"
Look, I didn't say it made sense!
IanDG
It makes perfect sense if you consider the amount of labor that goes into making nails by hand (as was done in Roman times). Iron was still a sparse commodity so selling nails by the pound plus an appropriate mark-up for labor per pound; seems to me the easiest way to both sell and purchase them.
And by the way, denari is the Roman term for their silver penny.
Here's what I found on a website from National Home Centers:
WHAT DOES "PENNY" NAIL MEAN?
The term penny originated in England many years ago. Ten penny, four penny, etc., nails got their names from the fact that one hundred nails of that size cost ten pence, four pence, etc. Today penny represents the definite length of a nail measured from the head to the tip of the point. The term penny is still shown by using the English Pence sign d.
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