Outside The Exchange are four bronze pedestal-shaped tables dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, known as ‘nails’. Modelled after the mobile tables that were taken to trade fairs and markets, it was here that merchants would carry out their business and receive payment. With their flat tops and raised edges, these tables prevented coins from tumbling onto the pavement. The merchants would strike the nail when a transaction was agreed, hence the expression “Paying on the nail” or “Cash on the nail”.
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