How many pounds can a sixteen penny nail hold.?

It can only hold the weight of 16 pennies. He-He. Just kidding. Actually, that's a good question. I've been a carpenter all my life and to tell you the truth, a 16d nail is one damn strong piece of metal. Ever pull one out of a piece of lumber that was shot in with an air gun? It'll make you grunt, that's for sure! One that's galvanized is even more difficult. And if it's a ring-shanked nail? Forget it. It's in the lumber until the wood rots. It's really not a matter of how many pounds it can hold. It's a matter of its bonding power. You can bend a 16d nail quite easily, but after it penetrates into a 2 x 4, for example, it's meant to stay, depending on how it was put to use ';structurally';.