Why is a sixteen penny nail called a sixteen penny nail?

General purpose and finish nails are sized by the term ';penny';, which dates back to the 1600s. It referred to the cost for a hundred nails of a particular size. For instance, if a hundred nails of a relatively small size cost four pence, they were called ';four penny nails'; (which is abbreviated as 4d on boxes at your home center). Although the prices have obviously changed, this traditional method of nail sizing is still used in the United States today.


As a general rule, a 4d nail is approximately 1-1/2'; in length, where a 16d nail is 3-1/2'; long. There are many more sizes available for specialized uses, but the majority will fall into this range.





In most countries, however, the metric system is used to denote nail sizes. For instance, the term 30x2.0 is indicative of a nail that is 30mm in length (not counting the head of the nail) and 2mm in diameter. (Canada uses a modified metric system, in that the nail lengths are listed in inches.)


Nailing Tips: Why is a sixteen penny nail called a sixteen penny nail?
because at one time you could buy a hundred of the nails for 16 centsWhy is a sixteen penny nail called a sixteen penny nail?
Well a LONG time ago, this was the cost of buying 100 of these nails. You could get 100 nails of this size for 16 cents. For 8cents you could get 100 nails 8d.


**JD
It's from England a long time ago. It's how much money it cost to get a blacksmith to forge 100 nails.