Antique Safes For Your Valuables – Add To Your Antique Collection
Choosing an antique object or furniture for your collection involves discriminating taste. You will be after the time it was made – the older the better; but the more expensive it becomes. Antique safes are good investments. As the years go by, the value of the antique safes appreciate.
What antique objects are usually collected? Coins and furniture – these are the most common. A coin minted in the early years is a collector’s fancy. Maybe – a bed used by an early century monarch is priceless. Older antiques are most often obtained in auctions. However, for the less antiquated objects, they can be purchased from specialty stores who trade antique goods.
Antique safes could be hard to find. These could be really expensive. But what qualities must the safe have to be categorized as antique? They must be collectible, aged, rare, unique and useful. They are desirable if they possess exceptional craftsmanship, design and age. And knowledge of the identity of the previous owner makes a difference in price. They can be acquired through antique dealers, passed down as estate, antique shops, auction services, on-line websites and on-line auction.
Description of antique safe
Most antique safes are iron safes. They are tough, bulky and have great capacity. They are made of iron and sometimes mixture of iron and metals. Being metallic and iron based accounted for the difficulty in breaking it up. These antique iron safes would require a big space inside a room, but the good thing is, they can be a good accessory to the room. As it is huge and bulky, it can be filled with more valuables.
A brief history of antique safes
One example of antique safe is called Diabold safe. This was introduced by Charles Diabold in 1859. Most of the safes during that time were made from strong wooden boxes strapped with iron hoops for security purposes. It was in 1820 when the first United States safe was made. Originally, they come from Europe. The safe gained so much popularity that more of them were produced. The first type of safe was the knob-chest type which later was called hobnail safe. The first safes were made with the shopkeepers and jewelers in mind – making a safe place to stack up their wares and money. In 1856, users included the elite and wealthy people who needed a place for their money and jewelry. During that time, people introduced innovations to the iron safe – they became fire proof. Then, the later production already had alarms.
Styles of antique safes
- Victorian parlor safe – These were elaborate safes, with gold gilt and decorations. They were made in various designs, sizes and shape. Variations of the Victorian safe were: jewelry safe, boudoir safe, brothel safe and table top parlor safe.
- Cannonball safe – The name was derived from its shape – round and these were first used and displayed in the bank. Smaller versions of the cannonball safe were made for home and business use. The variations were single door safe and double door safe.
One question usually asked today is – do you have antique safes? Well, if you do, there is a lot of fortune in that huge, bulky antique safe. But before you keep or sell your safe, know that there are people who restore and repair them.