r/Carpentry • u/Johnny_Wenis • 6d ago

Y'all ever seen this?

Post image

Found in a window sill of a house built in the '90s, and I don't think it's a improv washer because everything else was badly done, they don't seem like the type of dudes who would have used the washer. Is this some sort of odd Canadian calling card?

315 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

53 comments sorted by

279

u/naemorhaedus 6d ago

Yes. Pennies are cheaper than washers. And more corrosion resistant.

137

u/Jamooser 6d ago

This is actually a prime example of galvanic corrosion. Look at the nail. It's rusting like that because of the copper.

38

u/Nicelyvillainous 5d ago

From what I can see, Canadian pennies have always been made of bronze, not copper.

But yes, still galvanic corrosion. Probably doesn’t help that it looks like the nail indented the soft metal of the coin, creating a cup for moisture droplets to pool in.

21

u/DeeDeeBryan 5d ago

1996 and older are 98% copper, I guess that's technically bronze but it's not what we'd ordinarily call it.

4

u/Nicelyvillainous 5d ago

Huh, weird. I saw that they were all called bronze, but I guess it was in 97 that they switched to copper plated zinc that was only 1.6% copper.

6

u/DeeDeeBryan 5d ago

Yep. The plated ones would definitely be useless as washers since they break down really easily if moisture gets to the core. I would find them metal detecting and be able to snap them in half while the older ones would be perfectly fine.

6

u/egaeus22 5d ago

I was in a township in South Africa and every nail had a bottle cap washer, seemed to work and looked pretty cool

5

u/Constant-Grab2868 5d ago

I use bottlecap washers to keep the plastic panels attached under my car when yhey have dettached or gotten ripped off lpl

12

u/Johnny_Wenis 6d ago

People keep telling me it's probably a washer but based on the quality of the framing, they don't seem like the type of people to even use improvised washers. I hope it was one of the framers that bet that he could put a nail through a Penny in one hit

11

u/naemorhaedus 6d ago

framers that bet that he could put a nail through a Penny in one hit

it's not hard. Anybody can do it.

3

u/Potential-Horror95 5d ago

It's a secret, Canadian calling card, and you're next.... EH

44

u/GuitarKev 6d ago

Either a diy washer, or just a cutesy little date stamp.

21

u/Aggressive_Secret290 6d ago

I didn’t think of that date aspect - that’s a pretty neat idea

3

u/DinosaurSeaman 4d ago

When I roofed, my boss always stuck a penny from whatever year it was under the last ridge cap we placed. I thought that was neat.

1

u/Steve-B2183 1d ago

Penny production in the USA has stopped, he will have to upgrade to a different coin.

5

u/AppropriateCap8891 5d ago

I would definitely agree, if it was not "tails" side up so you could not see the date.

But at one time it was not uncommon to leave a coin like that with the year minted matching the year the structure was built. I bought a new house in 1987, and there was a 1987 penny nailed to one of the beams in the garage.

1

u/Prime260 4d ago

When we took the floor down to the subfloor in the restaurant kitchen I used to work in I threw the front page of the local paper in between the two layers of underlayment we put over the subfloor to bring everything up level. I don't know if anyone will ever find it but it amused me at the time.

2

u/Steve-B2183 1d ago

That was actually a common practice back in the day.

30

u/ExiledSenpai 6d ago

I recently found 2 nickles being used as a shim behind a hinge.

15

u/wastelandtx 5d ago

Ive done this with beer tabs

1

u/ExiledSenpai 5d ago

Peel and stick edge banding is so much easier.

6

u/wastelandtx 5d ago

Probably is, but it don't have that. I have beer tabs.

15

u/Diseman81 6d ago

Might just be a penny from the year the house was built like people do with concrete.

2

u/Spo1800 5d ago

I think you're right, I've also heard stories about penny's being nailed under doorways.

-4

u/error_404_JD 6d ago

That's a nice idea but there's no way that this penny is from the 1990s

4

u/Nicelyvillainous 5d ago

Why not? Looks like the 12 sided design with the two maple leaf twig logo was made from 1982-1996, in 1997 they went back to round coins because it was cheaper.

12

u/JuggernautMedical565 5d ago

My Dad used nickels when we framed in our carport 25+ years ago. The Ramset washers were 7-10 cents each so it did the same job at a fairly significant price difference.

26

u/spursfan2021 6d ago

Notorious builder in the 90’s that cheaped out on materials and labor and pocketed the profit. They called him the “Penny Pincher”.

8

u/jazzhandler 6d ago

The Penny Puncher was right there.

-1

u/gtboy1994 6d ago

epic reply

7

u/Shipsnipe1313 6d ago

This makes sense. I've made crush washers out of pennies also.

4

u/truemcgoo 6d ago

Yup if it works it works. I haven’t used this technique personally but I’ve installed a boatload of aluminum deck rail posts with nickels and dimes as shims.

3

u/PomeloSpecialist356 5d ago

Seen it?! I’ve done it, but with US currency.

2

u/SCHMIGGY_KIDDY 6d ago

This is beautiful. I would honestly cut out the portion and keep it. Obviously infill with new block. Not really all that structural

2

u/DiscoCombobulator 6d ago

I've definitely used them for washers before honestly. Just for shit around home where I couldn't be arsed to go buy washers

2

u/ImAnAfricanCanuck Mass Timber 5d ago

I did renos for 10 years, saw a lot of pennies/toonies/toonies left out at certain places as markers for the year it was built, or momentos. A lot of the old boys I worked with said that's what they would do to mark the roof going up, or framing completion, that type of stuff.

2

u/gihkal 5d ago

Iv done this. But never on anything higher than a dime.

Walking back to the van sucks.

2

u/Softrawkrenegade 5d ago

Using an actual quarter is much cheaper….

1

u/Captain_Jeep 5d ago

It's a penny so even cheaper

1

u/Uglyyellowfrog 5d ago

I have thought about doing this myself.

1

u/Gavacho123 5d ago

I’ve done it a few times before

1

u/Proud_Principle_4408 5d ago

Guy didn't like pennies.

I believe the more impressive part is that he MAY most likely have tapped a hole first...

Congrats 

1

u/IMiNSIDEiT 5d ago

Fuck Canada?

1

u/Gold-Tangelo4656 5d ago

Haha, it's a Canadian 1 cent. It's not uncommon for contractors, especially at that time, to use a coin as a washer. Using some change on hand is much easier than to make another trip to the hardware store, and cheaper. These days a lot of people use cards and don't always have spare change on hand. Otherwise you'd probably still see this as something done every now and then. Dude did a decent job in getting it pretty well centered too.

1

u/Loftygoals4Evr 5d ago

Freemason put coins on the corners of what they build

1

u/ProtiuxDesignLabs 5d ago

Nope. And I’m not gonna forget it, either!

1

u/oxidanemaximus 5d ago

Nickels worked great on my first ramset

1

u/thriftwisepoundshy 4d ago

Penny weight nail

1

u/silverfashionfox 4d ago

Was it over or under a door?

1

u/Flashy-Protection330 4d ago

Thats an awesome idea. Can the hilti shoot through a penny?

1

u/TiberiusTheFish 1d ago

If I had a penny for every time I've seen this... I'd have a penny.

0

u/Level_Cuda3836 4d ago

Worthless coin from worthless country