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Antique Safes/Need information and value on old bank safe

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Expert: - 2/10/2012


Question
Hello Terry V. Andreasan, this is an old bank safe owned by my father. We are sending some photos and are interested in its value. It weighs about 1,500 pounds, the shelves inside are just plywood obviously not original. Original shelving not present, only the horizontal metal bars which have tabs that slide in to the slots of the vertical brackets mounted on all three sides. All exterior dimensions are 30" Deep by 45" Wide by 68" Tall. The casters are all metal. The metal tag on the front says Safe Cabinet Laboratory Inspect M.E. Safe #12981. My father has repainted the safe as well, and it's very close to it's original color. On this website there isn't an option to send multiple photos, I'm only able to send one and there's nothing that I see on this website that specifies where I can upload more. Please supply us with any information you may have, and thank you in advance.

-Dean

Answer
Dean,

If in fact this safe was owned by a bank, it was used for record storage.  It is NOT a bank safe.

The Safe Cabinet Company began making fire resistive safes for document storage in 1905.  In 1926 they were acquired by Remington-Rand (Rand-Kardex) as this company wanted to add fire resistive storage containers to their line of file storage equipment.
The name of the company was changed to "Safe Cabinet Laboratories".  Remington-Rand also manufactured safes under their name, though containers for both companies all came from the same plant.  
In 1927 Remington-Rand also acquired the Victor Safe & Lock Company, Cincinnati.  This company was also moved to the Marrietta, OH location.  Safes with the Victor label were also identical to the others coming out of the facility.
Between 1955-1957, all three of these companies were acquired by the Sperry Corporation, and the safe division was closed down.

The Safe Cabinet Company, and its successors were known to use asbestos as an insulation in these containers

The "M.E." stands for "Medium Exposure", relating to its fire resistant capability.  The original shelving was just metal shelves, and their may have been sheet metal compartments for document storage.

Unfortunately due to the age of the containers, and the possibility of asbestos, this type of container has very little value.

What other information do you need?  

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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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