Sun Oct 30, 2016 9:02 pm
Safes at auction
I went to a local estate auction that had a number of safes listed on the billing. The fellow who passed on had a little bit and sometimes a whole bunch of everything which added up to a LOT of stuff. It was a two day auction selling the contents of the house and multiple storage additions that were stacked to the ceilings. At one point he had accumulated a large number of safes that he bought throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. many directly out of old banks. He had sold a number of them in the last decade, in fact, the Mosler screw door I have had come through him to the fellow I bought it from.
Two cannonballs, a number of chest safes, and several other unique models had me interested but getting them out of the building was going to be a huge problem. All of them had combinations. The buyer was responsible to move them and to complicate things, the property had sold and was closing the next day.
I bought one, an old Victor that was in a different part of the building and easily accessible. I have never seen a square Victor like this. It has a double jointed hinge with a handle on the upper hinge to help guide the door into the jamb. It is a very tight fitting door that requires the double action to fit it closed. The body is 37" high (42 with wheels) and 27" wide. With an inner door with combination, an interior vault (also a double jointed hinge), and original interior it is a prime candidate for a restoration. While cosmetically challenged on the outside, most of the graphics can be made out. The newest patent is 1889 so I assume it is pre 1900.
The other safes were:
Two large chest safes, extremely heavy and no wheels. Both sold for $10 to the new owner of the property. No one else bid.
Next was a United States Safe Company safe dated 1911. A very nice original with beautiful detailed bolt work and a mostly original interior. The door was very heavy requiring a lot of effort to swing it. No wheels. Sold for $350 to the new property owner.
Next was a cute double round door Cary. About 36" tall and two small round doors. The top door opened to a cash drop cylinder. Overall nice shape. Sold for $60. Not sure who bought this one.
Then came the cannonballs. They, with the rest of the safes, were in an addition with a narrow door and a poor concrete floor. I don't know how one would ever get them out. The new owner bought all of them.
The cannonballs were both later model Diebolds. Both had been repainted and were in fair condition with minor issues, had explosion proof locks, and had the time locks. Sold for $10 each.
Another chest safe, this one had pressure bars, double jointed hinges, and very thick walls. Cool but how would you ever get it out of there? Again, $10
Then came a smaller square safe with no identification. It was odd as it originally had ventilation holes in several places. Patches had been welded over them. $5 for this one.
The final safe was an odd one. If I thought I could get it out of there I would have bid. Wedged between the wall and a military bomb shelter it looked quite forlorn in the corner. A cast body about 30" tall and 24" wide with no wheels and no identification other than a S&G lock. A very small round door about 8" that was locked by a combination above it. Once open it revealed a space and another smaller round door that opened with two keys like a safe deposit box. Inside there was a compartment about 10" square. All that iron for such a little space. $5 for this one.
That was it for safes. There was also a vault door that wasn't sold as it was part of the building. Nothing special and it was in pretty tough shape.
There were also a couple boxes of old large locks that I assume were jail locks. All had keys. One box of about 10 with the largest being 9x6" and the smallest 6x4" sold for $750. Another box with less went for $300. There were also a number of large keys but I did not see them sell as they ran two auctioneers for most of the afternoon.
While I should have stayed home and worked on my Mosler it was a fun way to spend the day, especially when you bring another safe home.
Two cannonballs, a number of chest safes, and several other unique models had me interested but getting them out of the building was going to be a huge problem. All of them had combinations. The buyer was responsible to move them and to complicate things, the property had sold and was closing the next day.
I bought one, an old Victor that was in a different part of the building and easily accessible. I have never seen a square Victor like this. It has a double jointed hinge with a handle on the upper hinge to help guide the door into the jamb. It is a very tight fitting door that requires the double action to fit it closed. The body is 37" high (42 with wheels) and 27" wide. With an inner door with combination, an interior vault (also a double jointed hinge), and original interior it is a prime candidate for a restoration. While cosmetically challenged on the outside, most of the graphics can be made out. The newest patent is 1889 so I assume it is pre 1900.
The other safes were:
Two large chest safes, extremely heavy and no wheels. Both sold for $10 to the new owner of the property. No one else bid.
Next was a United States Safe Company safe dated 1911. A very nice original with beautiful detailed bolt work and a mostly original interior. The door was very heavy requiring a lot of effort to swing it. No wheels. Sold for $350 to the new property owner.
Next was a cute double round door Cary. About 36" tall and two small round doors. The top door opened to a cash drop cylinder. Overall nice shape. Sold for $60. Not sure who bought this one.
Then came the cannonballs. They, with the rest of the safes, were in an addition with a narrow door and a poor concrete floor. I don't know how one would ever get them out. The new owner bought all of them.
The cannonballs were both later model Diebolds. Both had been repainted and were in fair condition with minor issues, had explosion proof locks, and had the time locks. Sold for $10 each.
Another chest safe, this one had pressure bars, double jointed hinges, and very thick walls. Cool but how would you ever get it out of there? Again, $10
Then came a smaller square safe with no identification. It was odd as it originally had ventilation holes in several places. Patches had been welded over them. $5 for this one.
The final safe was an odd one. If I thought I could get it out of there I would have bid. Wedged between the wall and a military bomb shelter it looked quite forlorn in the corner. A cast body about 30" tall and 24" wide with no wheels and no identification other than a S&G lock. A very small round door about 8" that was locked by a combination above it. Once open it revealed a space and another smaller round door that opened with two keys like a safe deposit box. Inside there was a compartment about 10" square. All that iron for such a little space. $5 for this one.
That was it for safes. There was also a vault door that wasn't sold as it was part of the building. Nothing special and it was in pretty tough shape.
There were also a couple boxes of old large locks that I assume were jail locks. All had keys. One box of about 10 with the largest being 9x6" and the smallest 6x4" sold for $750. Another box with less went for $300. There were also a number of large keys but I did not see them sell as they ran two auctioneers for most of the afternoon.
While I should have stayed home and worked on my Mosler it was a fun way to spend the day, especially when you bring another safe home.
It is time... stand up for a constitutional America. Without it, we have shed blood in vain.