Weather vanes are instruments used to detect the instruction 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 identical master vane-maker was a large copper Indian vane and it was installed in 1740 on Bostons Old North Church.

Antique weather vanes are very rare and much in demand. Handcrafted ones are very difficult to authenticate. There is a nice 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 we are 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, putting up them in dirt-filled boxes with salt water and burying them underground for a few decades . 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 command 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 we are usually covered with metal sheets, rather than being painted on, they might have some square borders of gilt remaining. Also, they would have a mellow burnished finish instead of a shiny look. Since weather vanes we are usually used for shooting practice in olden days, some real antique vanes might have bullet holes in them. If it has holes or fissures, then there should be some dust accumulated inside. A great shake should reveal this. Although these are not sure-fire tests for antique weather vanes, they can help to understand at a glance if the vane is really antique or not. Antique weather vanes, like other antique products, are in high demand by collectors.