The Civic Museum in Regina Saskatchewan has a very cool, large, and heavy antique safe. They have no idea what treasures (or not) may be waiting inside because they don’t know how to open it.
Made by the Winnipeg Safe Works sometime between 1901 and the 1930’s, it had belonged to the Regina Furniture Company that closed its doors in 1979. The former owners donated it to the museum in 2001.
The wonderfully decorated safe features this image of a ship. with the words Winnipeg Safe Wks Ltd., Winnipeg Manitoba. across the bottom of the door.(Submitted by Rob Deglau)
The museum, in going through its inventory, realised that after almost two decades years in their inventory, they didn’t have the combination.
To hire an expert would cost a few hundred dollars the museum can’t afford, so they put out a public call for “safe crackers” to come and have a go.
In a tweet they posted.” Bank Robbers and Safecrackers Welcome. Anybody want to try to crack a safe. We have one in our collection and do not have a combination anymore. Its from the Winnipeg Safe Company from the early 1930’s. Let us know if you’re up to the challenge. Dynamite is not an option”
Can you crack this safe? The Winnipeg Safe Works seems to have a tradition of painting ship scenes on their safes with varying degrees of artistic filligree style decorative painting. This safe is estimated to be somewhere between 70 to 100 years old. (courtesy Rob Deglau)
The museum says anyone is welcome to try to open the safe, but don’t want it damaged in any way.
Of course old safes, long locked, are objects of great mystery and of hope they contain long hidden and forgotten valuables
However, as the museum’s community outreach coordinator Rob Delgau says, “We can only hope for incredible treasures. But if it was donated, I bet you it was cleaned out”.
Additional information –sources
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