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Antique Safes/Vault Door

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Expert: - 4/17/2009


Question

Vault Door
This vault door is in a building that is being torn down! Can you tell me anything about it? I was wondering what I should offer the owners of the building for it! Sorry for the bad pictures. Thanks for the help!

Answer
Shannon,

Unfortunately this web site does not offer much in the way of photo attachments.  Please send pictures of the vault door, inside and out so that I can give you a better assessment.  
andy@securitysafeusa.com

If they are tearing down the building and removing the door, I would possibly offer them from $0 (haul the door away) to $500 (and haul the door away) for the door.

Resale value of the door depending on the complete set up (send me the pics) could be from $500 to $1500.  

Note:  This door does not meet current fire or burglary standards and should not be used as such.  That being said this is a nice door and could be used for many purposes.

Barnes Safe was originally Burke & Barnes Safe Of Pittsburgh. Burke left the company in the early 1870's. It was not connected to Pittsburg Safe Co. which was started around this time. Barnes Safe outlived Pittsburg Safe and lasted into the 1920's. Thomas Barnes was the founder and was listed in the late 1840's as a safemaker.  Barnes was not a large manufacture even though they were in business for about 50 years.  Towards the end they clamed to have made 1,000,000 safes & vault doors.

Name of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh was officially named with its present spelling on April 22, 1794, by an act of the Pennsylvania Department, stating: "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the said town of Pittsburgh shall be, and the same is hereby, erected into a borough, which shall be called the borough of Pittsburgh for ever." [6]
Pittsburgh is one of the few American cities to be spelled with an h at the end of a burg suffix. For this reason it is also the most commonly misspelled city in America[7]. While briefly referred to as "Pittsburg" during the late 19th century, in 1911 the Pittsburgh spelling was officially restored.[6

Send me a complete set of pictures inside and outside and the vestibule area.  Also if there is a serial number available, this might help us "age" the safe.

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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