Cast Iron Gardeners Keys by Gardman

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Other examples of keys with solid handles have a simpler bit which projects at right angles to the handle. These may have been rotary keys. Three small copper-alloy Roman keys with solid handles. Left to right: BH-E374F2, LVPL-556548, SUR-19B512. It is still true that “the close dating of medieval keys is a matter of great difficulty” ( Ward Perkins 1940, 133) and this is made harder by the fact that most excavated keys with secure dates are made from iron, and are rather different from the copper-alloy examples that make up 90% of the medieval keys on the PAS database. The bit is always quite simple, often symmetrical, sometimes uncut. They are normally made from cast copper-alloy, but can occasionally be made from folded sheet. A selection of medieval ‘casket’ keys. Left, three keys with projecting stem-tips. Top to bottom: YORYM-BA5220, SUR-213DCA, YORYM-F9FB06. Centre, three keys with hollow tips to the stem. Top to bottom: SWYOR-1E38C8 (with lozenge bow), LIN-45359F, BUC-7FCC12. Right, cast and sheet-metal keys. Top to bottom: NLM-8E3BA4 (cast, with filemarks), DENO-273694 (of folded sheet metal). Today there are also a lot of reproductions and replacement keys that mimic old fashioned key styles so this too is something to consider if you stumble across an old key and wondering its value. A key which has a small simple L-shaped bit (instead of the substantial toothed bit) is more likely to be early-medieval, such as IOW-A346E4 (illustrated below). Early-medieval keys Early and middle early-medieval keys

The main typologies are Ward Perkins’s, developed for the keys in the London Museum; and Goodall’s, a modification of the London system developed in Winchester ( Biddle 1990, 1005-36). The London system uses Roman numerals, and the Winchester system uses Arabic numerals. Now that we understand a good bit about the different kinds of keys, it’s also helpful to have a little bit of familiarity with the different brands and manufacturers throughout history.

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Goodall dates lozenge bows found on iron keys at Winchester to no later than the 14th century (in Biddle 1990, 1007), and it is possible (but not certain) that this holds true for copper-alloy keys too. Many of the newer cars starting in 2017 do not even require a key to turn on, which some of us who learned to drive on older cars may never quite get used to. (I’m starting to, slowly! lol)

Some openwork handles have separately made iron stems and bits (see illustration above) but others, mainly smaller, have integral copper-alloy stems and bits (see illustration below). Note that in some cases (such as SF-491826 on the left below) the bit projects at right angles to the handle. Left: three Roman keys with openwork handles and integral copper-alloy stems and bits (left, SF-491826 ; right above, ESS-DB9F01; right below, DOR-038704). Right: a variety of shapes of openwork handles (left, WILT-8FF132 (above) and BERK-3259FE (below); centre, NMS-D6C4D9 (above) and NMS-F4BE10 (below); right, YORYM-FAA017.

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But as these small, undiagnostic keys continue to the end of the medieval period, it is impossible to date unstratified, undiagnostic casket keys this early. See below for more on casket keys, which we tend to date to c. 1100-1500 AD. Medieval keys These categories are really only relevant for iron keys, which are forged rather than cast (copper-alloy keys tend to be simply cast in one piece, or occasionally made from folded sheet). Goodall defines these as having the bit ‘set laterally’ to the stem; in other words, the bit is attached to the stem by its edge. Type A keys are not particularly common, and are given a wide date-range by Goodall from early-medieval to post-medieval; the examples from Winchester (all of iron) date to the 10th to 15th centuries (Goodall in Biddle 1990, 1006). Condition: Condition is another important factor to consider with antique and vintage keys. If the key is significantly rusty or is broken, it is probably better suited for craft projects than selling as an antique item.