Anon anon anonymous
#1The Forum at Handcuffs.Org
John Brown leg irons at auction this Friday
14 visible archived posts · 14 preserved total · topic ID 5336
Maxwell
#2Aaa, Thanks for posting the link.
It should be interesting to see the results of this auction.
It should be interesting to see the results of this auction.
LK
#3Any ideas on what the D2 stands for ?
I would think that would be some def.proof !
LK D~D
Franklin
#4D2 was possibly John Brown's booking number in 1859 when he got arrested.
Ron Spitz
#5They sold for $11000, with buyers premium $13145. There will also be postage. Someone got a nice piece.
Ron
holstcollection
#6The ER leg irons sold for $13.145 including buyer's premium.
http://historical.ha.com/c/item.zx?sale ... ailystatus
I thought I paid much for my set of handcuffs...
Lars
Unknown / guest
#7Ron, we must have posted simultaneously.
I wonder if it went to someone at the Forum?
Lars
Ron Spitz
#8Hi Lars---The bidding really went fast. That makes three known LI's.
I will update the known listings after I get to the CHP museum and check for any markings on their set.
I thought they would go higher but that buyers premium makes a real dent in the pocket book.
Ron
Joshua
#9Well there you go Lars...obviously you're a cheap skate and should've paid twice as much for yours
holstcollection
#10Hi Ron,
They sold much higher that I expected. Now I believe it was a civil war collector rather than a restraint
collector who won them. Not many restraints collectors are willing to pay that much for a set of leg irons.
@Joshua; Yes, the price I once paid seems like a bargain compared to the price of these leg irons
Not to mention your set...
Paul Davies
#11I would not be surprised if a Museum such as the Smithsonian bought the irons. I'm sure we'll find out where it went eventually.
Paul D
holstcollection
#12Hi Paul,
I think your theory makes a lot of sense! The buyer is likely a museum or a civil war
collector. If a restraint collector was the winner, we probably would have known by now.
@Ron; you asked about the key. The seller once told me the key has left hand threads.
Lars
Ron Spitz
#13Hi Lars--The auction company did a nice job of describing the markings on the LI's. I have added this info to the data base. Since these are only the third known pair I would not be surprised if a collector bought them. If there was not a 19.5% buyers fee, I think the price might have gone higher. Hopefully I will be able to get the markings on the CHP set and enlarge the marking data base.
The story linking them to John Brown was interesting but I do not think it would have been the selling point to a cuff collector. The condition and rarity of the LI's, to me would be the most important.
Ron
Bruce Thomson
#14As I understand it, the Smithsonian accepts things for free but doesn't have a fund to purchase items. The standard thing for museums, universities and the like is to issue receipts for tax purposes. Whomever bought the leg irons might offer them to a museum, but the money most likely came from his or her own pocket.