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Antique Safes/J Grove & Son Bent Steel Safe

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Expert: - 12/22/2009


Question

Defiance Safe Works
Hello, I have an old bent steel safe made by J Grove & Son and I am looking to find information on it. How valuable it is, how old it is, how sought after it is, and where I could sell it if there is a market for it. The inside of the safe is black with two drawers at the bottom.

On the inside of the door are two labels.

The one on top says: Defiance Safe Works Late with Chubbs Bent Steel Safe Makers
J Grove & Son Birmingham England

The bottom label says: Supplied by E.C. Sculthorp & Co Glasgow

The safe is in good condition and works great, no problems opening with the skeleton key. Any information on this safe and its value would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Bret Vanderhyden
Santa Barbara, California

Answer
Bret,

Your safe was made by one of many safe manufactures from Birmingham, England.  Between the mid 1800's to the early 1900's, there were at least 40 or 50 different safe manufactures in this small city.  With few exceptions all of the safes were virtually identical, the main differences being the plaques on the front, the locking mechanisms and the color of paint.
As you surmised, there is not a lot of information about most of these little manufactures as they came and went fairly quickly.  A few however like Chubb remained for many years.

Current value of your safe is around $600-$750

You would sell it similar to any item that you wished to sell - advertise, ebay, craigs list, drop off fliers at antique dealers, etc.

I would recommend having three prices in mind:  your asking price, the price you would like, and the lowest price you will take.

Obviously if you need to get rid of the safe, you will not get your asking price or even the price you would like.  If you are on a time schedule, you may well end up with the lower price.  On the other hand if time is on your side, and you can sit on the safe, you will eventually find a buyer that will pay top dollar for the chest.

Good Luck,

Andy

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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