I went to an estate sale yesterday and ran into a woman I've known for years. She has an antique shop close to where I live and I asked her how business has been. She said it's been really slow this year, even now with Christmas coming up. She said she depends on this time of year for a sales boost as well as a time to clear out some product before she has to do inventory. I had to go gas up my truck yesterday afternoon and I drive right by her shop, so I decided to stop in to chat ... plus I enjoy looking around as I usually run across stuff I don't know anything about and she gives me an education on antiques, so if I ever run across something similar in the future, I not only know what it is, but what it's worth.

Anyway, as we chatted she seemed concerned about her slow sales. As we were talking, I spotted an old, brass padlock that I just thought was super cool. The more I played with it, the more I just had to have it ... BUT, I don't pay retail. As I was returning it to it's spot on the shelf, she said she'd give me a discount if I wanted it. To be honest, I LOVED the lock, but even at a discounted price (10%, heck, the TAX was 7%), it was more than I'd normally pay. I'm in resale mode and not collector mode ... but I bought it anyway. One ... to help her out in a tiny way and two, because I wanted to fondle it a little bit more. I still have a little room for a small profit, but it probably won't be a super quick sale.

I just finished taking pics and thought I'd throw it up here first in case any o'youse dufes fall in love with it the way I did. I've researched it and found identical locks that were supposedly from the 1890's, but have no clue where they got their info. I found similar locks from the 40's, but the shank was round bar instead of the flat bar stock this one has. All I know is it's a HEAVY son-of-a-gun! It's solid! What makes it stand out above most of the samples I've found and makes it a bit more rare, is that it has the original key, so collectors will jump on it. Yale became "Yale & Towne" in 1868 and they came out with their padlock line in 1879. On the Yale "history" web page, they show the identical lock (flat shank).

http://www.yaleresidential.com/en/ya...le/Our-brands/

Anyway, here's my lock. Anyone here a collector?


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