Weather vanes are instruments used to detect the direction of the wind. They date back to the year 48 BC, as seen from the Tower of Winds in Athens, Greece. There are many other references to weather vanes in history right from the 1st century BC. The first authenticated weather vane in the US was supposedly made by Shem Drowne of Boston in 1716. Another vane made by the same master vane-maker was a large copper Indian vane and it was installed in 1740 on Boston’s Old North Church.

Antique weather vanes are very rare and much in demand. Handcrafted ones are very difficult to authenticate. There is a great demand for those made in the factories which date back to the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Some of the most popular weather vane makers were A.L. Jewell, J.W.Fiske, E.G.Washburne and Cushing and White. Some unscrupulous dealers duplicate weather vanes to look like antiques by coating them with animal manure, placing them in dirt-filled boxes with salt water and burying them underground for a few months. The antique look can also be duplicated by treating them with copper sulphate, acetic acid and potassium sulphide.

Antique weather vanes were also highly experimented upon, and so we find many unique pieces like the one made by Thomas Jefferson which had a shaft that went through the roof into the room below. There was an indicator there so that the wind direction could be checked without going out of the house and looking at the vane directly. Antique iron weather vanes are also available in several types like: deck or fence weather vanes, lawn weather vanes, roof top weather vanes, table top weather vanes, and more. They are also provided with the necessary accessories and hardware like cupolas, mounting shafts, and roof mount bases.

There are certain guidelines for identifying whether a weather vane is really an antique or not. Real antique vanes are much finer than fake ones. Since antique vanes were usually covered with metal sheets, rather than being painted on, they may have some square borders of gilt remaining. Also, they would have a mellow burnished finish instead of a shiny look. Since weather vanes were usually used for shooting practice in olden days, some real antique vanes may have bullet holes in them. If it has holes or fissures, then there should be some dust accumulated inside. A good shake should reveal this. Although these are not sure-fire tests for antique weather vanes, they can help to know at a glance if the vane is really antique or not. Antique weather vanes, like other antique products, are in high demand by collectors and used as garden decor.