Noah Sinclair
Nails are sold by a number followed by a 'd' and by length. The 'd' stands for 'penny', so 16d refers to a 16-penny nail, which is 3-and-a-half inches long. There are a few theories as to why the 'd' is used. One is that it dates back to the time when the Romans ruled England and the monetary unit was the denarius, which had the same value as an English penny. Another is that a hundred 3-and-a-half-inch nails would have cost 16 pennies and thus became known as 16-penny nails.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Length | 3-1/2 inches |
| Cost | 16 pennies |
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What You'll Learn
The 'd' in 16d stands for penny
The sizing system comes from the era when the Romans ruled England and the monetary unit was the denarius, which had the same value as an English penny. Legend has it that one hundred 3-1/2-inch nails cost 16 pennies back then. Some say that a hundred 3-1/2-inch nails would have cost 16 pennies and thus became known as 16-penny nails. Others say that the number and the 'd' indicate that one 16d (3-1/2-inch) hand-forged nail cost 16 pennies.
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16d nails are 3-1/2 inches long
16d nails are 3-and-a-half inches long. The 'd' in 16d stands for 'penny', so 16d refers to a 16-penny nail. There are a few possible explanations for this. One is that the term dates back to when the Romans ruled England and the monetary unit was the denarius, which had the same value as an English penny. Legend has it that one hundred 3-and-a-half-inch nails cost 16 pennies back then. Another explanation is that the number and the 'd' indicate that one 16d (3-and-a-half-inch) hand-forged nail cost 16 pennies.
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The 'd' in nail sizes comes from the Roman monetary unit, the denarius
The 'd' in nail sizes stands for 'penny', so 8d refers to an 8-penny nail, 16d to a 16-penny nail, and so on. It's a way to indicate nail length. Nails are sold both by a number followed by 'd' and by length.
There are a few different explanations for the origin of the 'd' designation. One theory is that a hundred 3-and-a-half-inch nails cost 16 pennies, and thus became known as 16-penny nails. Another theory is that one 16d (3-and-a-half-inch) hand-forged nail cost 16 pennies. It's not clear which version is true, or why the 'd' designation persists even in modern building codes.
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The 'd' in nail sizes indicates cost
The sizing system is historical and dates back to when the Romans ruled England and the monetary unit was the denarius, which had the same value as an English penny. Legend has it that a hundred 3-1/2-inch nails cost 16 pennies back then.
However, there is another theory that the number and the 'd' indicate that one 16d (3-1/2-inch) hand-forged nail cost 16 pennies. It's not clear which version is true, but the "d" designation is still used in building codes today.
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Retail boxes of nails are marked with the penny size as well as the length in inches
There are a few possible explanations for the use of 'd' in nail sizes. One is that it hearkens back to the era when the Romans ruled England and the monetary unit was the denarius, which had the same value as an English penny. Legend has it that a hundred 3-and-a-half-inch nails cost 16 pennies back then. Another explanation is that the number and the 'd' indicate that one 16d (3-and-a-half-inch) hand-forged nail cost 16 pennies.
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Frequently asked questions
16d means 16-penny nail. Nails are sold by a number followed by a 'd' and by length.
A 16d nail is 3-1/2 inches long.
The 'd' stands for 'penny'. One explanation for this is that it harks back to the era when the Romans ruled England and the monetary unit was the denarius, which had the same value as an English penny.
16 pennies.
8d refers to an 8-penny nail, 10d refers to a 10-penny nail, and so on.
