Note: The ‘d’ means ‘penny’.
For example, a ’10d nail’ is a ’10 penny nail’.
| Size | Inches | Cm |
| 2d | 1.00 | 2.540 |
| 3d | 1.25 | 3.175 |
| 4d | 1.50 | 3.810 |
| 5d | 1.75 | 4.445 |
| 6d | 2.00 | 5.080 |
| 7d | 2.25 | 5.715 |
| 8d | 2.50 | 6.350 |
| 9d | 2.75 | 6.985 |
| 10d | 3.00 | 7.620 |
| 12d | 3.25 | 8.255 |
| Size | Inches | Cm |
| 16d | 3.50 | 8.890 |
| 20d | 4.00 | 10.160 |
| 30d | 4.50 | 11.430 |
| 40d | 5.00 | 12.700 |
| 50d | 5.50 | 13.970 |
| 60d | 6.00 | 15.240 |
| 70d | 7.00 | 17.780 |
| 80d | 8.00 | 20.320 |
| 90d | 9.00 | 22.860 |
| 100d | 10.00 | 25.400 |
And how did ‘d’ become the abbreviation for penny?
The ‘denarius’ was an old Roman coin and as the centuries passed, the abbreviation ‘d’ eventually became associated with the old British penny.
What about the expression “10 penny nails”?
Well a LONG time ago, this was the cost of buying 100 of these nails. Yes, way back then you could buy 100 10 penny nails for 10 cents OR 100 16 penny nails for 16 cents, etc. !!
Times sure have changed !