Steve Santini 06 Jul 2015
#5I was just looking through EBay and noticed some rare manacles from the Royal Castle of Nuremberg, the "Nuremberg Collection".
I normally wouldn't post here about another persons auctions, but since there are currently no active bids, I figured that it wouldn't be a problem to post about them.
I've only posted pics of a figure 8 and a bar cuff but there are a few more up for sale besides these two.
The photos below are from two of the listings.
I am very familiar with these offerings as I too was a bidder in the original auction however I was after other items in the sale.
Further, in our collection we have many objects from the original Nuremburg Castle collection so I was quite familiar with these restraints.
Regarding this "B" shaped ankle shackle, I have studied numerous photos of it and I am certain that the spring wedge plug securing the shackle is not the original intended for the restraint.
It is missing the protrusions that would have fit into the "guide slots" of the locking tube. These would have been present to ensure that the proper locking plug could only be pushed into the locking tube one exact way.
I am also convinced that they key which is jammed into the shackle, (and which will now not come out), is also not original to the restraint.
I personally have seen and worked on the end result of a multi barbed spring wedge lock where the locking plug has not been the proper one and yet has been forced into service and it is a serious problem.
I have also handled spring wedge locks where incorrect keys have gone past the spring barbs and the barbs have opened once the key was PAST them and the key becomes firmly trapped in the locking tube. Another nightmare.
One a positive note, a valuable restraint which was sold in the original auction and which the buyer is now trying to sell on ebay is a set of heavy leg irons which were incorrectly described as German when they are in fact Australian convict punishment irons, (heavier than the normal convict irons).
For anyone who collects Australian convict restraints these are a good find. They fetch far more in most auction houses.
Cheers, Steve
