Can someone help me ID this ship nail?

Divedoc

Greenie
Dec 22, 2013
12
1
Key West
Primary Interest:
Shipwrecks
I found this guy in the Bahamas. I haven't tested it yet but I'm pretty sure it's a copper alloy of some sort. The tip of the nail was broken off sometime in the recent past but I don't know how. It appears to me to be late 1700s but I'm better with coins than I am with this sort of thing. Any resources on the web that ya'll could point me to?

Thx

 

Donovan

Full Member
Jun 10, 2005
117
7
Most bronze fasteners are 19 th. century. Don't get caught taking historical items out of the Bahamas.
 

Red_desert

Gold Member
Feb 21, 2008
6,852
3,500
Midwest USA
Detector(s) used
Garrett Ace 250/GTA 1,000; Fisher Gold Bug-2; Gemini-3; Unique Design L-Rods
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
We have some nails look exactly like that, leftovers from when I was in construction. No doubt the style of nail goes back to centuries past. What we used them for.....when a piece of wood of less thickness than a 2 x 4, only if it got nailed to a concrete floor. Those were the nails used, the small square point went into the floor a little. Between the point and head of nail, gets wider which is good for holding wood in place, yet not too thick so penetrates the wood easy enough. Of, course, yours might be square, ours were a little flat near nail head.
 

Last edited:

captbilly

Jr. Member
Nov 1, 2007
28
25
Samana
Detector(s) used
Aquapulse,Garrett
Looks like we found the same nail. Or same ocean different sites. I know the Atocha had all iron fasteners. The 16[SUP]th[/SUP] century ship we excavated had all iron fasteners. I am not real sure but most Bronze nails seem to be from more modern era ships. I am sure someone will say even Roman ships had bronze nails. So far in my shipwreck excavating career bronze nails mean modern wrecks. Like 19[SUP]th[/SUP] century onwards. However this bronze fastener I found was on a wreck with iron cannon and lead sheeted hull. And lots of earthen pottery shards. Because so far it is the only bronze nail we found it may have been cross contaminated from a previous grounding. Hard to say? Some countries spared no expense in building their ships and maybe had bronze fasteners.
Not an expert on bronze nails, just my two cents. 090.JPG 093.JPG
 

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