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An iron horseshoe hung as a charm, conventionally with the ends upward.
Also known as: Lucky horseshoe, Hung horseshoe
Among the most widespread European luck charms, and one of the few whose disputed detail — which way up to hang it — is genuinely regional rather than invented. Iron, the crescent form and the association with the blacksmith all appear in explanations of why it was thought to work.
Hung above a door or on a wall as a charm for luck and protection, a practice recorded across Britain, Ireland and much of Europe and carried to the Americas.
Europe and the Americas
Which way up it should hang is genuinely contested and regionally divided: ends upward so the luck is held in, or ends downward so it pours out over those who pass beneath. Both are attested traditions rather than one being an error.
Both orientations are attested traditions in different regions. Sources asserting one correct way are stating a local custom as a rule.
Explanations offered in the folklore record include the protective property attributed to iron, the crescent shape, and the standing of the blacksmith as a figure with power over iron and fire. These are recorded rationalisations, and no single origin is established.
Several competing explanations are recorded; none is established as the origin.
A thick U-shaped curve of iron, open at one end, pierced by a row of small square nail holes along its band.
Both are widespread European charms for luck rather than for protection against a named threat.