Expert: Terry V Andreasen (Andy) - 4/10/2009

Question
Can you help me please?  I have an old Meilink steel safe & I'm wondering what its worth.  I can't seem to find anything on the internet about it.
Outside dimensions are (approx.) 49.5" H x 25" W x 21" D.  
The information on the safe's plates:
SPEC F1 0
FMNA Class C
CAT NO. 10  848906
NO. Y 488234
Thank you for any help you can provide.  I appreciate it.


Answer
Mrs Z,

Based on your description, your safe would have been built during the 1930's to 1950's.  The information you have provided is from the Safe Manufactures National Association.  SMNA was a standards rating association, not a manufacture.  All this label tells you is what standard the safe was built to.  For instance:

SMNA Specification "F1-D" indicates a "Fire Insulated Safe"
SMNA Class "C", indicates a "1 hour tested Fire-Resistive Container with Impact Test.
The Label Color should be Green
The Cat No. & Y designation No. are basically serial numbers for the label, not the safe.

Your safe was basically a general purpose records safe, for a small business or for personal use.

I have several standards that I adhere to, for several reasons.  These being that you are trusting me to accurately describe and define your safe for reasons of "value", "antiqueness", "fire resistant" and "burglar resistant" capabilities.
First - Antique status - safes that are less than 100 years old, are not antique, merely old safes.
Second - Fire & Burglary resistance - Safes that are in excess of 50 years old, do not meet current standards for fire and burglary protection, and should not be use as such.
Third - Value - There are several different values that may or may not apply to any given safe.  If you are interested in the fire & burglary protection of a safe, I have to compare it to today's current standards.  If you are interested in its resale value, again I have to compare it to current manufactured safes and the level of protection it offers.  Lastly, If you are interested in its Antique value, then I have to basically perform a detailed inspection of the safe, identifying ever flaw, and compare it to other safes and pricing that I have seen or am aware of.  The value of old or antique safes also have several other factors that come into play when the seller and buyer are negotiating the price.  For instance, if you both agree the safe is worth $350, then the buyer also has to consider transportation.  If it is going to cost him $350 to have the safe moved, he has to consider that this $350 safe is now costing him $700.  But once he gets the safe home, it is not now worth $700, it is still only a $350 safe.
The negotiation should take into consideration the motivation of the seller (how fast to you need to sell the safe) and the motivation of the buyer (is it a one of a kind that he can't live without).

In order to rate or evaluate your safe, I'm going to need photos.  They should include full exterior and interior.  Detail photos should include pictures of the dial, handles, hinges, artwork, locks, bolt work, castors, cabinetry and any special details or damage.  Please use as high a resolution as possible.  Pictures which are low resolution, out of focus, or from a distance don’t help when we try to evaluate the container.

I can tell you though, that generally safes such as yours are usually not worth more than $0-$250.  This of couse would depend on the condition of the safe, but many times we charge customers to haul of safes like this as they have limited to no resale value, and it is not old enough to qualify as an antique.

If the safe is in good working order, keep it.  I wouldn't recommend that you keep cash, jewelry, guns or important documents in it as it was not designed for this purpose.

Hope this helps out.

Andy