How to date a Thimble

keossvin

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Mar 2, 2016
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Hello Tnet,

Found this thimble today and got no idea from ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1576750628.338357.jpg what time period. Any tips on how to date one ? ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1576750594.998225.jpg ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1576750616.227868.jpg
 

DCMatt

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Oct 12, 2006
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I agree with Don. The size and shape is odd for a thimble.

cmint.jpg
 

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smokeythecat

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Nov 22, 2012
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It could have been broken off. Dating is hard. If the holes are hand made it apparently is a lot older than one with regular sized holes.
 

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GaRebel1861

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Jun 16, 2011
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We find them down here that date back to the late 1790s. They are sometimes found at the same sites that we recover trade items from. I do not know of any way to put an exact date on any of them though.
 

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Red-Coat

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Dec 23, 2019
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I see you're from the Netherlands. Assuming what you found is not broken and it is actually a thimble, short domed ones like that typically date to mediaeval times... 14th-15th Century. There's some useful information on the forms in use by time period on the UK Portable Antiquities website at this link:

https://finds.org.uk/counties/findsrecordingguides/textile-equipment/
 

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Rookster

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Nov 24, 2013
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Freeze plug.
 

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Rookster

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Red-Coat

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There are thimbles... and then there are European mediaeval thimbles.

thimbles.jpg

The pictures aren't great for keossvin's item and we have no context for the find nor any indication of what metal it's made from. The sides are a little straighter and it's more uniform than I would expect on an item that old because they were usually made by hammering, although 'cast' is possible.
 

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Rookster

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There are thimbles... and then there are European mediaeval thimbles.

View attachment 1782726

The pictures aren't great for keossvin's item and we have no context for the find nor any indication of what metal it's made from. The sides are a little straighter and it's more uniform than I would expect on an item that old because they were usually made by hammering, although 'cast' is possible.

Don't see anything close. No being negative but it's a freeze plug
 

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