Value of old handcuffs from a Michigan Sheriff

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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Please post a picture of the other side of the cuffs (key hole side). Also, do they have a key and are they in good working order? These are important issues in determining how much cuffs are worth. BTW, where exactly in Michigan did these come from (city, county, township, etc.)?

Cheers, Mike D~C/

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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No key unfortunately, but here is a picture with the spot for the key along with the unlocking mechanism.

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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The note says something about them being bought from the jail in 1939 by Millard Reed and his address was in Caro Mi. I believe the jail was in Caro too.

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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Bean Patrolman?

I'd hold on to them for sentimental value.

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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I think I am going to do that. Trying to order a key to see if it works.

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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Jason, you are right, Bean Patrolman.

These are worth in the neighborhood of $100.00-$200.00 (USD) if they work. You should get a key for them and make sure they are functional......a little tef-lube or WD-40 wouldn't hurt either. Thanks for sharing, good luck with them!

Cheers, Mike D~C/

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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These are not the Bean Patrolman but the scarcer DETECTIVE which is lighter. You can tell by looking
at the clevis size. The DETECTIVE also has a thinner link.

Lars



Detective - Patrolman - Prison

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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I have pair from old time EA the Amazing Wilcox, and they are the prison model.

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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Good eye Lars....I didn't even notice! What is the price difference between the Patrolman and the Detective?

Cheers, Mike D~C/

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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Hi!

It's sometimes hard to tell the different version of Bean cuffs. The easiest way to tell is by looking at the hinge size.
The three basic versions are; Detective, Patrolman and Prison. Detective is the lightest and Prison the heaviest.
The problem is that it doesn't stop there. There are also "small" and "large" versions of Patrolman and Prison.
A "small" Prison is often falsely identified as a Patrolman.

On the picture below you see three typical specimen of each version. You can clearly see the difference in the
thickness of the bows. The Detective also has a thinner link and the Prison has a "protruding" bow not going
all the way in the lock house.

There are similar differences on the Iver Johnson cuffs but so far I have never seen a Iver Johnson Detective. Maybe
someone here at the Forum own such set?? Please let me know or post a picture.

I have several Bean/Iver Johnson/Lovell versions on my web site if anyone is interested.

Cheers, Lars

www.holstcollection.com

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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I couldn't discern from memory, but Lars' comparison clears things up.



Thanks for posting!

Jason

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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Lars, thank you, excellent. This is the information we crave, direct precise and easy to understand. Thank you until now I didn't know there was a third.

Ian

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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Lars, thanks for the heads up about your website. I have gone to your site many times in the past to do a little handcuff study but I have not been there much lately; I will make a point to check it out more often. It is a FANTASTIC site for the cuff enthusiast.....thank you very much for providing and maintaining it!

BTW, you side stepped my earlier question.....how much are the Detectives worth compared to the Prison or the Patrolman?

Cheers, Mike D~C/

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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Thanks all for your nice comments!

It's always a great pleasure to be able to contribute.

I'm not updated on prices but if a really good Bean Prison is
worth $200 - 250, a Bean Detective in the same fine condition would be worth +$100.
This is only my personal opinion so don't take it for granted. The Detective is much
scarcer than both the Patrolman and Prison version, no doubt.

Cheers,

Lars

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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Gordon, a long time collector and very knowledgeable on Bean handcuffs asked me to post this photo and info.

"There were 2 Bean Prison models, the smaller one weighs ~ 17 oz and the larger one ~ 22 oz.
The last ones made were by Iver Johnson and used a barrel key."

Thanks Gordon.

Damon

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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All this information was so helpful. I police officer had given me a pair when i was a little kid and the other day while cleaning out my closet, i found these with the keys!!!! I have the bean detective pair and am super stoked to hear that they may be more rare than the patrolman and prison sets! thanks to all who provided info on this item! I was going to sell them, but now I am going to keep them for sure!

Hi,

My grandfather recently passed away at the age of 91. His father was a Sheriff in Michigan. I found these old handcuffs and wondered if anyone had an idea on their value.
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Hi Jin Jin, any chance of a photo of your cuffs with keys, nice to see what the keys were and they have changed as well over the years.

Ian