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Similarly...Americans size wire carpentry nails as some number followed by a d. 16d nails are most common for nailing together two-by lumber as standard in structures, 8d are used for one-by lumber trim or plywood.
The d is pronounced 'penny'. And like most of the stupid little stuff we do, it's the Limeys' fault.
Back when the UK had three moneys rather than two, they abbreviated pound as L (as above), shilling as S and, for some crumpet eating reason, pence as d. At some point in history, nails were sold in lots of 100, and different sizes at different prices. A box of large framing nails might cost 16 pence, a box of small tacks might cost 4 pence. The terminology has pretty much stuck to this day.
The d symbol for the English penny, comes from the Carolingian denarius, the smallest denomination in the currency of Frank King Charlemagne's empire, which became the model currency for several European currencies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny
See? I knew there was some crumpet eating reason.