Thimble identification: dating by shape, pits and crown

If you detect, you’ll find thimbles. Brass ones, mostly, and often squashed.

They’re easy to dismiss. But a thimble can be dated by eye, and the oldest go back more than 600 years.

Not Roman

People used to think the earliest metal thimbles in Britain were Roman. The UK Detector Finds Database (UKDFD) says the present view is that they’re all much later. Thimbles from the 9th or 10th century have been found at Corinth and in Asia Minor, but they didn’t become widespread in Britain until the 14th century.

Quick dating key

UKDFD gives these pointers, based on Edwin Holmes’s work. It warns there are many exceptions.

Medieval: skeps and beehives

Until the start of the 15th century, most thimbles were shallow and cup-shaped. Collectors call them acorn-tops, skeps or beehives.

They were cast, or hammered from sheet metal, and the pits were punched by hand. Many have one or two grooves around the base. Few have any other decoration.

A hole in the crown is an early sign. It’s said to mark English manufacture, and isn’t found after about the end of the 14th century. A tonsured crown, a smooth patch on top, carried on into the early 16th century.

From about 1400, thimbles grew taller but stayed rimless, with domed tops. The pits run in a spiral, in vertical lines or in rings. Big pits were for coarse needles and thick cloth or leather.

Medieval thimbles are almost always copper alloy, mostly brass. Many were made locally; some were imported from Nuremberg.

16th century: Nuremberg

Thimbles got taller and slimmer, with flatter or slightly conical tops. Sheet metal replaced heavy casting.

Makers’ marks appear from about the 1520s, usually at the bottom of the spiral of pits. Look for a dagger, flower, key or spur. Nobody can yet match them to particular makers.

By the mid 16th century Nuremberg dominated. Its makers soldered a rolled body to a separate cap, and could pattern the sheet before forming it. The results look surprisingly modern. Small medallions are a typical decoration.

Sewing rings, or tailors’ thimbles, were made too.

17th century: waffles and strap-work

By the mid 17th century, thimbles had almost parallel sides. Look for:

• waffle-shaped or ring-shaped pits;
• strap-work, often a chevron or Z shape;
• one or two incised lines at the base;
• a clock-dial pattern on top.

Silver thimbles became common in ordinary homes, and inscriptions appear. Under the Commonwealth, many were religious or moral. Silver ones often have a shield or cartouche for the owner’s initials.

English pits were punched by hand until the late 17th century. That unevenness is a dating clue. By then most imported brass thimbles came from the Netherlands, and some Dutch ones already had machine-made pits.

18th century: the Lofting type

John Lofting, a Dutch thimble maker, set up a factory in Islington in 1693. He later moved to Great Marlow in Buckinghamshire, where water power doubled his output. UKDFD gives his capacity as about two million thimbles a year. He died in 1742.

The common 18th-century field thimble is the Lofting type:

• cast in one piece;
• knurled, regular pits;
• a waffle-pattern crown;
• little variation except size.

Children’s thimbles are the same design, only smaller. UKDFD says they’re not unusual finds.

Birmingham makers soon copied the type, often alongside buckles and buttons. If you’re also digging those, see our buckle guide and old buttons guide.

Late 18th century onwards: deep drawing

In 1769, Richard Ford of Birmingham patented deep drawing. A sheet-metal disc is pressed through a series of dies and annealed until it’s thimble-shaped. These thimbles are thinner than cast ones.

Early deep-drawn thimbles often had steel tops. In the ground, the steel usually rusts away. So a brass ring with an empty top is likely late 18th or early 19th century.

Improvements in the early 19th century made the steel top unnecessary. Victorian brass thimbles have:

• a pronounced rim;
• rings of pits on the crown;
• thin metal;
• sometimes decoration or lettering round the base.

Reporting

A silver thimble over 300 years old, with at least 10% precious metal, is Treasure in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Report it within 14 days. See what counts as treasure. Brass thimbles aren’t usually Treasure, but early ones are worth recording with your Finds Liaison Officer.

FAQ

How old is my thimble?

Start with the shape. A squat beehive with a hole in the top is likely 14th century. A tall, rimless thimble with hand-punched pits in a spiral is probably 15th to 16th century. A one-piece cast thimble with a waffle-pattern crown is usually 18th century. A thin one with a clear rim and rings of pits on the top is 19th century or later.

Are there Roman thimbles?

It used to be thought so, but UKDFD says the present view is that all metal thimbles found in Britain are much later. Thimbles didn't become widespread here until the 14th century.

What is a Lofting thimble?

A cast brass thimble with knurled pits and a waffle-pattern crown, very common in England and the Netherlands. It's named after John Lofting, a Dutch maker who set up a thimble factory in Islington in 1693. The type was made through most of the 18th century.

Why does my thimble have a missing top?

Deep-drawn thimbles of the late 18th and early 19th century often had steel tops to stop the needle going through. In the ground the steel usually corrodes away, leaving a brass or silver ring.

Is a silver thimble Treasure?

A single silver object over 300 years old with at least 10% precious metal is Treasure in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. If you think yours could be that old, report it within 14 days.

Sources

Every figure in this guide comes from one of these. We checked each one on 1 November 2026.

1. UK Detector Finds Database, “Thimbles” (2005), citing Edwin F. Holmes, Sewing Thimbles, Finds Research Group 700–1700 Datasheet 9, and A History of Thimbles. www.ukdfd.co.uk/pages/thimble.html
2. Treasure Act 1996 Code of Practice (3rd revision), GOV.UK. www.gov.uk/government/publications/treasure-act-1996-code-of-practice-3rd-revision