Actually, during a certain time of the year, in a certain place in the US, that exact same thing happens, except the currency is plastic beads instead of nails.

As for the question about whether someone would use pre-sawn lumber versus hand-hewn for framing, I suspect the answer would be the same as today: Depends upon the cost of materials and guy who built it. Did he prefer to use the tried and true post and beam as opposed to the "toothpicks held together with pins" new-fangled construction?
Les

Good point... I was talking with a friend of mine yesterday about this very thing. Apparently, his grandfather insisted on using a rubble & mortar foundation when he built his house in the 1930's... he didn't trust that"new-fangled" concrete. Figured if it was made with water, it would dissolve with water. That's how he learned to build houses when he was a young man, so that's how he build them later on.

LOL, so do we but we call it Valentines day.

Another update...

Was down in the basement and took a closer look at the boards that are nailed to the joists... they are nailed in with these nails:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1109820472.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1109820482.jpg

Looked them up here:
http://www.uvm.edu/~histpres/203/nails.html

These ones are definitely hand-wrought... "rose petal" heads, tapered on all sides. I also have type A & B cut nails elsewhere in the house. I'll have to stop yanking them out though... the piano's bound to come crashing through.