🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Lead nails ?

[John of Long Island.]

Hello, I found two of these lead nails… ? I don’t know what they are. Dug in the same town but 2 miles apart. The areas were yielding early 1800’s. A mile from a harbor. One is 2 1/2” and the other is 3 1/2”. Lead. Peened at the top. I showed a view people in the hobby and they don’t know. They seem to agree on the 1700’s. I’m new to the hobby. Would they make lead nails back in the day ? I’ve heard of lead headed nails for roofing… thank you the help. John

 

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[creskol]

Welcome to TNET .. Good to have you aboard!
I don't think they are lead .. lead would be too soft for nails.
Will a magnet stick to them?

 

[pepperj]

I've dug thousands of Sq. nails.
The lead washers from roofing nails, lead pencils but never have I dug a lead nail.
The pictures look like old lead, so this is a new one for me at least.

 

[villagenut]

They definitely look like lead but a lead nail would not really be drivable my opinion. The rosehead example you show has had lots of pounding on. Magnet test? Could be bronze that just has a patina unlike what we usually see.......maybe do a scratch test

 

[HistoryTeacher]

Looks like lead to me. Not drivable for wood, so would have to be driven into a predrilled hole or pre-existing space. I have heard of lead masonry anchors, but the female anchor was typically the lead part. Something for ships makes sense.

 

[villagenut]

I think we need to first determine the material before more guesswork........here is an image from the internet of a similar patina on a spike that is described as being wrought iron.....I would want to know if the OPs nails are magnetic or not, going forward.

 

[John of Long Island.]

Welcome to TNET .. Good to have you aboard!
I don't think they are lead .. lead would be too soft for nails.
Will a magnet stick to them?

Hello, a magnet will not stick to them. And they are soft and you can bend them as lead. The white patina is like the old bullet lead I dig up. John

 

[John of Long Island.]

They definitely look like lead but a lead nail would not really be drivable my opinion. The rosehead example you show has had lots of pounding on. Magnet test? Could be bronze that just has a patina unlike what we usually see.......maybe do a scratch test

I cleaned off an area with a wire brush. And bent one straight. John

 

[John of Long Island.]

hello, i cleaned off a bit of the patina and it looks like lead. I also bent one with my fingers. John.

 

[cudamark]

Lead was used for all sorts of things back in the day. It wouldn't surprise me if those weren't used as some sort of plug to be driven into a hole. Their soft nature would expand when hit and help seal whatever had a hole in it.

 

[villagenut]

Definitely not iron....unless you are a super hero. I do agree that they have old musketball type patina. Cuda has a probable use for them

 

[John of Long Island.]

Lead was used for all sorts of things back in the day. It wouldn't surprise me if those weren't used as some sort of plug to be driven into a hole. Their soft nature would expand when hit and help seal whatever had a hole in it.

As in a boat ! Someone told me they thought they were used for boats. And the harbor is near by. This would make sense.

 

[creskol]

As in a boat ! Someone told me they thought they were used for boats. And the harbor is near by. This would make sense.

I'm not sure what purpose they would serve as they have no strength whatsoever. And, as the old saying goes, you can't fit a square peg into a round hole, so pre drilling unless way oversize, is out of the question.

I suppose it is possible that they poured lead into an existing nail hole just to fill the void.

 

[John of Long Island.]

I'm not sure what purpose they would serve as they have no strength whatsoever. And, as the old saying goes, you can't fit a square peg into a round hole, so pre drilling unless way oversize, is out of the question.

I suppose it is possible that they poured lead into an existing nail hole just to fill the void.

Thank you for the help ! Appreciate it. John

 

[pepperj]

I'm not sure what purpose they would serve as they have no strength whatsoever. And, as the old saying goes, you can't fit a square peg into a round hole, so pre drilling unless way oversize, is out of the question.

I suppose it is possible that they poured lead into an existing nail hole just to fill the void.

That makes a lot of sense. That would work easy enough if horizontal, on a vertical surface would be challenging.

 

[villagenut]

The problem I have with that theory is the nail head.....I don't see how the nail head would be formed in the pour....and why both heads seem to show evidence of being altered by the thud of a hammer.

 

[1637]

cool find, this is going to be a fun one

 

[creskol]

The problem I have with that theory is the nail head.....I don't see how the nail head would be formed in the pour....and why both heads seem to show evidence of being altered by the thud of a hammer.

Perhaps it was a way to "smooth" the overfill.

 

[villagenut]

Looking at the mushrooming on the bent nails head, it would appear that the deformity came from driving it in as you would see on a forged iron nail.....strange for a nail made of lead. If it were a blob of overfill that got tapped on, it would not look like that. This is a strange one for sure.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

for nailing jello to cheese. Just a guess