Nacho started a thread at Search Engine Watch Forums asking Does Age in URL transfer with 301?
In that thread he asks, if one has a URL path domain.com/old-category1-name.html and wants to move that 301 style to domain.com/new-category1-name.html "will the age recorded in the search engine's records for "old-category1-name.html" follow down to the "new-category1-name.html"?"
I do not believe the "age recorded" for either of those file names will affect anything. I believe it is the age of the domain name, domain.com - that will play a roll in the whole site's success or failure. What do I base this on? Some personal experience.