How can I tell the age of furniture from its nails and screws?

Hardware is one of the best clues to age, because the methods for making nails and screws changed over time. Hand-forged nails, common before about 1800, have irregular shanks and rough, hand-hammered heads. Cut nails, made by machine through much of the 1800s, are rectangular and tapered with a blunt tip. Round wire nails like the ones sold today became common in the late 1800s.

Screws tell a similar story. Early handmade screws have uneven threads, blunt ends and off-center slots. Machine-made screws with pointed tips and even threads came later in the 1800s, and Phillips-head screws point to the 1930s or later. Joinery helps too: a few wide, uneven hand-cut dovetails suggest older work, while many small, perfectly even dovetails suggest machine work.

Be careful, because furniture is often repaired with newer hardware, and fakers sometimes reuse old nails. Look for consistent wear, tool marks and shrinkage across the whole piece. An antique furniture appraiser or auction company can judge age from all the evidence together.