What is the origin of term “penny” for nail sizes.
Did you ever wonder why the term “penny” is used to designate a nail size. There seems to be two theories:
1. Because one hundred 8 penny nails cost eightpence, one hunder 6 penny nails coast sixpence and so on.
2. One thousand 8 penny nails weighed 8 pounds, one thousand 6 penny nails weighed 6 pounds. Then for some reason the pounds was changed to penny.
Why is the letter “d” use penny? One theory suggest the letter “d” was the first letter of the Roman denarius
Nail Designation Box Diameter Common Diameter
6d 0.099″ 0.113″
8d 0.113″ 0.131″
10d 0.128″ 0.148″
12d 0.128″ 0.148″
16d 0.135″ 0.162″
20d 0.148″ 0.192″
30d 0.148″ 0.207″
40d 0.162″ 0.225″
