Hatpins: The Weapon-Length Jewelry of 1900
For twenty years the fashionable hat needed a pin long enough to be classed as an offensive weapon in several cities. The result is a collecting field with real design, real marks and prices that have never caught up.
Between roughly 1890 and 1920 the hat grew, and so did the pin required to hold it to a pile of hair. At its height the hatpin ran from six to twelve inches, was made in every material from sterling and enamel to celluloid and paste, and was produced in numbers that make it, today, one of the few genuinely affordable corners of marked antique silver. It also caused a minor moral panic: several American cities and Australian states passed ordinances limiting exposed pin length, on the grounds that a twelve inch steel spike at eye level in a crowded tram was, in fact, dangerous.
Anatomy and materials
A hatpin is a decorative head on a steel shank, and the two parts are made and joined separately. Heads appear in sterling silver, often with Art Nouveau whiplash or Arts and Crafts forms; enamel over silver; gold, less often; paste and glass, including the faceted "sparkler" heads; celluloid and early plastics, which the early plastics guide helps identify; jet and vulcanite for mourning; carved horn, bone and mother of pearl; and porcelain, including Satsuma work imported from Japan.
The shank is steel and usually plain. Its condition matters more than beginners expect: rust, bends and repairs are common, and a replaced shank is a repair rather than a fake, but should be disclosed.
Dating and marks
This is one of the better-marked small object fields, because a great deal of it went through the British assay offices.
| Feature | What it indicates |
|---|---|
| Full British hallmark on the head | Datable to the year by the date letter; Chester and Birmingham are the usual offices |
| C.H. maker's mark | Charles Horner, the most collected name in the field |
| Length over eight inches | Peak period, roughly 1905 to 1914, when hats were largest |
| Point protector or nib | Sold separately after the safety ordinances; original protectors add value |
| Celluloid or early plastic head | 1900s onwards, and requires the storage care plastics need |
Unmarked continental and American work is common and identified by style rather than punch.
What to check before buying
The join between head and shank, where age and repair show first; a modern glue line is a warning. The head's condition, especially enamel, which chips permanently, and paste, which loses foil and goes grey. The shank, for rust pitting, bends and shortening, since pins were often cut down when fashions changed and a shortened pin is worth less. The mark, read whole rather than by initials alone, following the makers' mark method.
The commonest modern problem is the marriage: an old head on a new shank, or a button or brooch fragment converted into a hatpin. Neither is fraud when disclosed, and both are priced well below original pins.
Living with them
Hatpins store badly in boxes, where the shanks bend and the heads knock together. The traditional solution, a hatpin holder or a block of cork, is still the right one, and it doubles as display. Keep them dry, since the steel rusts and the rust migrates into the head's fittings, and keep celluloid pieces away from heat and from each other, as degrading early plastics attack their neighbours.
For collectors the appeal is straightforward: a marked, dated, genuinely Edwardian piece of silver design still costs less than dinner, and the design quality at the top of the field is as good as anything else the period made.
Frequently asked questions
How long is an antique hatpin?
Commonly six to twelve inches. The longest belong to the peak hat fashions of roughly 1905 to 1914, and several jurisdictions legislated to limit exposed points.
Were hatpins really treated as weapons?
Yes. Cities in the United States and states in Australia passed ordinances in the early 1900s restricting unprotected pin length, and point protectors were sold in response.
How do I date a hatpin?
By the hallmark on the head where one exists, which gives the exact assay year, and otherwise by style, material and length.
Who is the most collected hatpin maker?
Charles Horner of Halifax, whose C.H. mark appears with full Chester hallmarks on large numbers of silver and enamel heads.
What is a hatpin marriage?
An old head mounted on a replacement shank, or a brooch or button converted into a pin. Legitimate when disclosed, but worth considerably less than an original.
How should hatpins be stored?
Upright in a hatpin holder or a block of cork, kept dry to prevent rust, with celluloid heads separated from each other and from heat.