Something I had kicking around. I decided to open it and take some pictures.
If you look closely at that last picture you can see the wheels line up to allow the bolt to move. It's not under pressure so I guess it'd be hard to manipulate unless your putting pressure on the bolt.
This isn't really a "safe" These were used as P.O. Boxes and there would be hundreds of them on a wall at the local post office, and the customer who rented a particular box would walk up and dial their combination open the door and get their mail. The little window saved them some time by allowing them to see if they had any mail before they opened the box.
squelchtone wrote:This isn't really a "safe" These were used as P.O. Boxes and there would be hundreds of them on a wall at the local post office, and the customer who rented a particular box would walk up and dial their combination open the door and get their mail. The little window saved them some time by allowing them to see if they had any mail before they opened the box.
Squelchtone
That's why I tagged on "reproduction." I just thought someone might find it interesting.
squelchtone wrote:This isn't really a "safe" These were used as P.O. Boxes and there would be hundreds of them on a wall at the local post office, and the customer who rented a particular box would walk up and dial their combination open the door and get their mail. The little window saved them some time by allowing them to see if they had any mail before they opened the box.
Squelchtone
That's why I tagged on "reproduction." I just thought someone might find it interesting.
I have seen this type of coin box/piggy bank on ebay before. People take the old doors from the old P.o.Boxes they mount them to a wooden box and put a coin slot somewhere on top. It's novel, but just know that it is not a reproduction of anything the US Post Office ever used in this configuration as a money box or safe. In fact, that is a REAL door off a Post Office Box. One really interesting feature was on the top left of the mechanism. When the door to the box was closed, it automatically scrambled the wheels so you didn't have to spin the dials after you shut the door. I had to draw the insides of one of these for a CAD class I was taking about 10 years ago. Here's the only surviving pic I have of the CAD drawings.
squelchtone wrote:This isn't really a "safe" These were used as P.O. Boxes and there would be hundreds of them on a wall at the local post office, and the customer who rented a particular box would walk up and dial their combination open the door and get their mail. The little window saved them some time by allowing them to see if they had any mail before they opened the box.
Squelchtone
That's why I tagged on "reproduction." I just thought someone might find it interesting.
I have seen this type of coin box/piggy bank on ebay before. People take the old doors from the old P.o.Boxes they mount them to a wooden box and put a coin slot somewhere on top. It's novel, but just know that it is not a reproduction of anything the US Post Office ever used in this configuration as a money box or safe. In fact, that is a REAL door off a Post Office Box. One really interesting feature was on the top left of the mechanism. When the door to the box was closed, it automatically scrambled the wheels so you didn't have to spin the dials after you shut the door. I had to draw the insides of one of these for a CAD class I was taking about 10 years ago. Here's the only surviving pic I have of the CAD drawings.
long ago, in '67, while stationed at Letterman army general hospital in the Presidio, I had such a mail box at the hospital, and it was quite easy to manipulate, some cross forces I remember, perhaps pulling on the door, while turning the wheels, In any case, these are the least secure post boxes I have ever known, and I don't think that the post office has used them for many years.
I just played with it for a bit and if you use light pressure on the latch you can feel it "bumping" over the grooves until it misses a bump. That's where the notch is for that wheel. Took a bit of practice but it wasn't hard.
I just thought someone might find it interesting.
