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Antique Safes/Milner Safe

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Expert: - 9/16/2009


Question

Milner Safe
I work at a large church and we are looking to upgrade our safe.  We currently have a Milners 'special safe' (see attached photos) which is now too small for our needs.  Having read some expert advice on here I am also interested to see that you advise not using a safe over 50 years old (which I assume this is).  Can you give me some idea of the likely age of the safe and also how much we may be able to sell it for? It has been repainted at some point and there is no lock in the internal drawer.  I have further photos avfailable if that would help. Thanks

Answer
Hi Catherine

The Milner safe is probably a little more than 50 years old - the brass furniture and general type of construction suggest early 1930's.  Most churches insure with Ecclesiastical who, along with many other leading underwriters, are reluctant to insure this type of safe for more than a nominal cash holding of £1,000 or perhaps up to £10,000 in valuables (chalices, silver plate, etc).

This type of construction is referred to as 'eight corner bent' and is usually vulnerable to attack at the back.  For this reason they are frequently surrounded in brickwork or concrete as they can seldom be bolted down to prevent them being turned to expose the rear.

As the safe cannot be insured for anything other than minor sums it does not have much general commercial value. It is possible that it would sell on eBay but the buyer would have to collect as the cost of moving it would probably be more than it would fetch.  It does have a heavy brass plate in very good condition and these can fetch up to £50+ as they are quite collectable.  Used safe dealers would usually expect to pay nothing for this type of safe but would possibly collect it for free.

Americans will pay top dollar for 'antique' Milner safes and I have seen them feature on US internet sites for hundreds of dollars.  Unfortunately Milner safes are ten-a-penny in the UK and therefore do not command a high antique value.

I'm sorry to say that my recommendation is that if you can't find a buyer on the internet for the safe or the name plate, it should be pensioned off and used to lock up important but not necessarily valuable items.  Don't take too much notice of the Fire Resistant claim on the name plate; Milner invented a patent fire resistant fill of sand, sawdust and alum crystals but this is likely to have substantially deteriorated over the years and could no longer be relied upon to be effective.

I hope you find this information useful.

Regards,

Mike Palmer FSyI
Insurance Liaison Coordinator
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentBrilliant - really clear answer! Will help me in fighting my corner for a decent safe (which I have been after for a while now). Thanks again Catherine


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Mike Palmer

Expertise

I earn my living identifying safes and suggesting cash limits for risk advisors and insurance surveyors in the UK. I'm not able to comment on safes made in the USA but will be happy to take questions on all major British and European manufacturers.

Experience

I have been in the UK safe industry for 40 years and have one of the largest archive databases of old safe literature and serial numbers in the country. I started with Chubb in 1960 and became Assistant Manager of their Bank Security Division before moving on to become the Insurance Liaison Manager with the John Tann Group. I became Sales & Marketing Director for Guardian Safes Limited before semi-retiring. I am a Fellow of the Security Institute and Chairman of Eurosafe UK, a trade body representing the interests of UK safe makers and distributors. I now work as a part time consultant.

Organizations
I am an invited advisor to the Safe Committee of the Association of Insurance Surveyors and a Fellow of the Security Institute.

Publications
I have had literally scores of articles published in various security trade publications. So far this year I have had 24 features published in various journals including Keyways, Professional Security, Pawnbroker and Safe India.

Education/Credentials
I have no relevant educational credentials.

Awards and Honors
In 1997 I was awarded the annual shield by the Association of Insurance Surveyors for "..outstanding services to crime prevention"

Past/Present Clients
I have represented or been an agent for the John Tann Group (Stratford, Ratner, Dreadnought and Tann safes); Churchill Safes, Chubb Safe Co Ltd, SLS Safes, SMP Safes, Dudley Safes and several others

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