Any Barbed Wire or Square Nail Experts Out There?

[FreeBirdTim]

I just dug up some barbed wire and 5" square nails at my latest spot. I was hoping someone could give me a rough idea as to how old they are. I don't want to waste my time digging in this area if it's just a 1950's dumping ground. Any help is appreciated!

 

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[duggap]

I will tell you what I know. It may help a little until some one else who knows what they are talking about come along. The cut or square nail went out of favor around 1900. They had barbed wire but not until after the civil war. Exactly when it came out I am not sure but it could be fairly old. If it were me I would go with the square nails and hunt the place pretty close. Good luck. I went on the internet and it says barbed wire was first patented in 1867. It was changed to its present form around 1876.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Thanks! I'll go back and see what else I can find. I thought the square nails were old, but wasn't sure when they stopped using them. I'm hoping to find some horseshoes or other evidence that a barn was located there at one time. Thanks again!

 

[cactusrat]

As for the barbed wire, I have a fence made with the same type of barbed wire, but a little cleaner.

Your’s might not be that old either. I’m guessing my fence was put up in the 70’s.

 

[claygold]

I just dug up some barbed wire and 5" square nails at my latest spot. I was hoping someone could give me a rough idea as to how old they are. I don't want to waste my time digging in this area if it's just a 1950's dumping ground. Any help is appreciated!

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here in n.c. those nails are still used allthough not as long used for nailing wood to concrete also 2 inch nails were used up to the1960s for hardwood floors

 

[BosnMate]

The nails are old (1900's + or -), the wire is new, at least after WW2. I was building fence in the 50's using wire like that. Here's what some of the turn of the century wire looked like.

 

[Rusted_Iron]

Cut "square" nails actually go back to about the 1790's. I can't quite tell from the pic, but yours look like cut nails. Most of the dug ones I've seen like yours are from early to mid-1800's sites, but these kinds of nails were in use probably until about 1880 or 90, maybe 1900 depending on the part of the country. The barbed wire is probably not from the same time period as your nails.

There are a lot of early sites with newer barbed wire, just because they used these places for several generations.

5" square nails are worth keeping if you find nice ones like that.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Thanks for all the replies! I'll keep any nails I find and leave the barbed wire alone! Hopefully, I'll be able to find something else of value there. I'll let you know if I find anything that's interesting or old.

 

[Helix]

A old timer once told me when ever I come across barbed wire snap a piece in two and check to see its not made of copper. I have never heard of or seen barbed wire made of copper. Electric fence maby?? Anyway to this day when ever I come across alot of it I check to see if its copper or not.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

That's very good advice. I always do that with any wire I find. You can usually tell if it's copper by sight, but it only take a second to snap the wire to be sure it isn't copper.

I find a lot of bare copper wire in my bottle dump searches. It's the old style house wiring that used to have a cloth covering, but the cloth eventually rots away over time. With copper at $3.25 a pound, I always save any scrap copper that I spot.