So, I appear to have a Mosler safe

[ondeadlin]

Nice to meet you all, great site you have here.

I'm renovating a building that I recently purchased and, in the course of that renovation, have uncovered a Mosler safe. It's on the second floor of a building that's probably more than 100 years old. It doesn't fit into my renovation plans, so I'm left wondering what to do with it? Would someone want it? And what would it typically cost to have someone remove one of these?

It opens (as you can see), and the bars inside move in and out with the handle, but the dial that must have been on the front at some point is gone.

Any help you can offer would really be appreciated. Thanks!

[Publius]

Hard to say for sure without the model number (it's probably stamped on the handle), but from the looks of it I'd say your safe is probably ca. 1920s, and likely weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 900+ pounds empty. Assuming your building doesn't have a freight elevator, that could make it challenging to remove, though obviously some earlier building tenant got it up there in the first place, and there are safe and vault companies that will haul away extremely heavy items even if it means going piano-mover-style out the window. Google 'safe and vault moving/removal' in your area and you'll probably come up with some regional options. Cost would be tough to estimate since it could depend greatly on how difficult it is to extricate the safe from the building, etc., but you'd probably be looking at a few hundred dollars minimum. As for whether anyone would buy it, it might be a hard sell based on the fact that the exterior finish is in rough shape and it's missing the dial (plus the lock mechanism itself, it would appear from the photo)... Still, it's always possible that someone might take it off your hands as a restoration project and at least haul it away for free – if you don't need it removed immediately, I would start by advertising it on Craigslist or any other local classifieds sites in your area and seeing if anyone bites on it. If not, then it's probably time to call in the safe movers.

[MartinHewitt]

Someone might have removed the complete lock and dial to put it on his book shelf or to sell it on ebay.

[ondeadlin]

Thanks for the responses, fellas. I'm going to look at the handle later and see if I can get a number.

It's a mystery to me how it got up there.

[ondeadlin]

I was able to find a number on the handle: 235845

I tried to follow the instructions elsewhere on the site on how to use the number to determine the model, but ... I must be messing something up. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Publius]

Hi ondeadlin -- based on this list, which I believe has also been posted in the forum somewhere, your serial number appears to fall between the first numbers used in the years 1911 and 1912, thus placing the manufacture of your safe sometime during the year 1911. That list may not be 100% accurate to the year, but it's in the ballpark, and that date seems plausible.

[ondeadlin]

Thanks, everybody. Regardless, I gotta get it out of this building. Looks like it's going to take a crane and a a window ...

[billdeserthills]

Thanks, everybody. Regardless, I gotta get it out of this building. Looks like it's going to take a crane and a a window ...

Lifting the door up & off with a hydraulic jack could cut the weight considerably--better watch those fingers & toes tho

[djed]

What city is this located in?

[ondeadlin]

Dundee, Michigan.