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Expert: - 1/30/2009


Question
I am very interested in buying an antique safe for aesthetic purposes. As a child I remember seeing a safe in a lawyer's office and thought it was beautiful. I would like to have one for myself now. I've been trying to learn as much as possible and from reading the Q&A from you I understand that you have a collection of safes some of which are for sale. If you could give e some information I would be grateful. Thanks


Answer
Cathy,

I some times think we are collecting safes because we have so many, unfortunately, the older safes come and go at a fairly rapid pace.  I had two buyers come in a couple of weeks ago that bought 4 of them, currently we are down to around 1/2 dozen.  We don't normally list them on our website (http://www.securitysafeusa.com/p-81-antique-safes.aspxas) they may be here today and gone tomorrow.  A couple of places you might check out are:

http://www.theantiquesafecollector.com/
http://www.sosantiquesafe.com/

You can also check ebay out for deals.  Unfortunately, when you find a really nice safe, you may have to have it shipped in which will add cost to you, but not value to the safe!

Start doing your education, and research any potential safes, until you find a manufacture that you are interested in, then concentrate your search for potential candidates.

Feel free to run any safes you find by me, I'll try to give you an unbiased opinion as to the condition and value.  

Andy

Antique Safes

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Terry V Andreasen (Andy)

Expertise

Safe and Vault related Questions; Antique Safe Repair and Restoration; With over 40 years in the Safe & Vault industry, if I can't answer your question I know where to get the answer. Current Project: Restoration of two Tilton & McFarland Safes from the 1860's. Will answer Safe & Vault related questions concerning age, value, restoration, moving, opening & repairing, parts, operation and history. Note: It is not my intention to teach you to open safes or to provide information which may aid in the unlawful opening of a safe. I will not give out drill points or information which I deem inappropriate.

Experience

40 years in the Safe & Vault Industry. Service Manager for one of the largest Safe & Vault companies on the West Coast. Graduate of Lockmasters Safe Lock Servicing, Safe lock Manipulation and Safe Deposit Lock Courses. Graduate of Locksmith Institute. Certified Instructor for the California Locksmith Association teaching Basic and Advanced Lock Servicing, Basic Safe opening and Repairing. Factory Trained by AMSEC, LORD Safes, LeFebure, Mosler, KabaMas, LaGard and Sargent & Greenleaf

Organizations
Safecrackers International and the National Antique Safe Association

Education/Credentials
Graduate of Locksmith Institute 1972 Graduate Lockmasters Safe Lock Servicing 1974 Graduate Lockmasters Safe Lock Manipulation 1975 Graduate Lockmasters Safe Deposit Lock Servicing 1985 Instructor Certified - California Locksmith Association - 1985 Factory trained by AMSEC, MAJOR, STAR, Johnson-Pacific, Kaba-MAS, Allied-Gary, ISM, Lord, Brown Safe, EXL, Mosler, Diebold.

Awards and Honors
2009, 2010 & 2011 Listed in AllExperts top 50 Experts. All Experts Categories - Safes & Security Containers, Locksmithing, Antique Safes. Retired US Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer (CW3), with 32 years of total service. With numerous awards from Vietnam, Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. US Navy - 1971-1981 US Army Reserve 1984-2006 US Army Retired Reserve 2006-present

Past/Present Clients
US Secret Service, FBI, BATF, Local Law enforcment agencies, Diebold, Hamilton Pacific, Red Hawk Int., Chubb International, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, Mechanics Bank, El Dorado Savings Bank, many Credit unions and smaller banks. McDonalds, Togos, BurgerKing, TacoBell, Carls Jr. FoodMaxx, SaveMart, Lucky's, Albertson's, Raley's, Safeway, NobHill, Bell Markets, PW Markets. Great America, Century Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, UA Cinemas, and many homeowners and small businesses. Provide warranty service for lock and safe manufactures. Service area is Northern California - Fresno to Oregon, including western Nevada

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