Expert: Terry V Andreasen (Andy) - 10/26/2009

Question
I have a safe made by The Safe Cabinet Co.  It is 39" wide by 70" high and is on wheels.  It has two heavy thick doors with the combination dial on the right hand door.  On the inside of the right door it has a plate that says Safe Cabinet Laboratory with the number 18226.
Can you tell me anything about this safe, including the value please?

Answer
Chuck,

    The Safe Cabinet Company was formed under the laws of Ohio about January 31st 1906, having succeeded a partnership composed of Willis V. Dick and George B. Shad of Marietta.  They traded under the name of the Safe Cabinet Company, manufacturing and selling equipment known as "Safe Cabinets".  The Safe Cabinets were a "novelty" manufactured from  sheet metal in such a way as to leave an air space between two thin sheets of metal in which was placed a fire resistant material, in such a manner as to become what was known as "fireproof" construction.
    The Safe Cabinet Company was a pioneer and leader in the record protection field.  Safe Cabinet products were scientifically tested, and the Safe Cabinet Company was the first firm to apply for and receive Underwriter's Laboratories Labels (1913 UL testing) as an insulated cabinet.
    The Safe Cabinet Company was purchased by Remington Rand in 1926 to expand its record systems to include document protection from fire.  Cabinets were built under several different labels while under ownership of Remington Rand.  Some of these labels included the "Safe Cabinet Laboratory", "Remington Rand", and "Victor".  All of these labels were discontinued around WWII.

Unfortunately, there are no records to indicate what year your safe would have been manufactured, but as it has both the "Safe Cabinet Company" and "Safe Cabinet Laboratory" labels, I would think that it would have been around the 1926-1935 time frame.

Value:
Fire Resistance     $0     Safes over 50 years old do not meet current standards and should not be used for overnight storage of valuable documents.
Burglary Resistance $0     These safes were designed as office equipment for record protection only.  The safe only has minimal burglary resistance.  It does not meet current standards and should not be used for overnight storage of cash or jewelry.
Resale value        $250-$500     Note:  This manufacture used asbestos in the manufacturing of some of its equipment.  There are no records when this started or when it ended.  Without submitting your container for testing it would have to be a "suspect" container.  This may limit the number of potential clients.  I don't suggest that you hide this fact as somewhere down the road it could come back to bite you!  If necessary, submit a sample of the insulation material to a testing facility to have it ascertained as asbestos or not.
Antique value      $0     This safe is not an antique  (100 years +)
Collectible value  $0     This safe was manufactured as office equipment not as a safe.  This safe is not a "collectible".

Sorry about the bad news, but I hope this helps you some what.

ANdy