Age and origin of Dollar-Handcuffs

Recently I bought two nice Dollar-Handcuffs (barrel key type) from an Italian seller. The solid (flat) key version from my collection was also purchased in Italy. And I have seen one or two more of these restraints offered by Italians. But I have never seen one offered by a German or Austrian seller, although most collectors think that they are of German or Austrian origin. Alex R. Nichols wrote in "Volume II" that an former Luftwaffe pilot told that the cuffs were made in German war camps. But once again, I am really wondering why I have never seen one sold in Germany. The Italian dealer told me that the officer of the Italian police who had given the Dollar-handcuffs to him explained that these handcuffs are of Austrian-Hungarian origin. They were found in an old house next to the shore of the river Ticino in the region of the Piemont, North Italy, where Piemont's troops defeated an invasion of the Austrian-Hungarian army. That would speak for the Austrian origin of the restraint but also for World War One time . Any ideas?





All keys shown are not original.

Regards,
Guenter aka Atame
www.atame.info

Guenter

Nice cuffs. I have heard others attributing the dollar cuffs to Austria, so maybe that theory is correct.

Joe

Recently I bought two nice Dollar-Handcuffs (barrel key type) from an Italian seller. The solid (flat) key version from my collection was also purchased in Italy. And I have seen one or two more of these restraints offered by Italians. But I have never seen one offered by a German or Austrian seller, although most collectors think that they are of German or Austrian origin. Alex R. Nichols wrote in "Volume II" that an former Luftwaffe pilot told that the cuffs were made in German war camps. But once again, I am really wondering why I have never seen one sold in Germany. The Italian dealer told me that the officer of the Italian police who had given the Dollar-handcuffs to him explained that these handcuffs are of Austrian-Hungarian origin. They were found in an old house next to the shore of the river Ticino in the region of the Piemont, North Italy, where Piemont's troops defeated an invasion of the Austrian-Hungarian army. That would speak for the Austrian origin of the restraint but also for World War One time . Any ideas?





All keys shown are not original.

Regards,
Guenter aka Atame
www.atame.info

Click to expand...

Hello,
I have never seen a pair up close for inspection but I just noticed something in the photo's. The first pictuce looks normal like ones I have seen before. The recent photo shows the metal with a hole in it off to the side out of alignment as compared to the other photo's. Does this rotate the keyhole to add a padlock to prevent someone from using the key as an added measure of security?

-Dorson

Recently I bought two nice Dollar-Handcuffs (barrel key type) from an Italian seller. The solid (flat) key version from my collection was also purchased in Italy. And I have seen one or two more of these restraints offered by Italians. But I have never seen one offered by a German or Austrian seller, although most collectors think that they are of German or Austrian origin. Alex R. Nichols wrote in "Volume II" that an former Luftwaffe pilot told that the cuffs were made in German war camps. But once again, I am really wondering why I have never seen one sold in Germany. The Italian dealer told me that the officer of the Italian police who had given the Dollar-handcuffs to him explained that these handcuffs are of Austrian-Hungarian origin. They were found in an old house next to the shore of the river Ticino in the region of the Piemont, North Italy, where Piemont's troops defeated an invasion of the Austrian-Hungarian army. That would speak for the Austrian origin of the restraint but also for World War One time . Any ideas?





All keys shown are not original.

Regards,
Guenter aka Atame
www.atame.info

Click to expand...

Hi Dorson,

first of all, please let me explain the unusual locking mechanism of this restraint for all, who are not familiar with it: if you turn the key clockwise, a small lever on the side of the lock-case can be turned to the right. If this lever is on the right side, you have to pull on the lock-case to open the cuff.

The movable (up to about 45 degrees, when cuff is in open position) part next to the lock-case is a little mystery. If it is moved "halfway", like shown on the second picture of my original posting, the cuff stays in open (neutral) position, but meanwhile I think that is just a coincidence and not the purpose of this part. My theory is that this "appendix" can be opened (only when the cuff is unlocked) to add a leading or belly chain or to chain several prisoners together, what is often needed in wartime (catchword: "POW").

Regards,
Guenter aka Atame

Recently I bought two nice Dollar-Handcuffs (barrel key type) from an Italian seller. The solid (flat) key version from my collection was also purchased in Italy. And I have seen one or two more of these restraints offered by Italians. But I have never seen one offered by a German or Austrian seller, although most collectors think that they are of German or Austrian origin. Alex R. Nichols wrote in "Volume II" that an former Luftwaffe pilot told that the cuffs were made in German war camps. But once again, I am really wondering why I have never seen one sold in Germany. The Italian dealer told me that the officer of the Italian police who had given the Dollar-handcuffs to him explained that these handcuffs are of Austrian-Hungarian origin. They were found in an old house next to the shore of the river Ticino in the region of the Piemont, North Italy, where Piemont's troops defeated an invasion of the Austrian-Hungarian army. That would speak for the Austrian origin of the restraint but also for World War One time . Any ideas?





All keys shown are not original.

Regards,
Guenter aka Atame
www.atame.info

Click to expand...

Hi,

the right of the two Dollar-Handcuffs on the first picture is for sale at eBay right now. The starting bid is just US$ 0.99 and there is no reserve! So please have a look at:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZatame

Regards,
Guenter aka Atame

Recently I bought two nice Dollar-Handcuffs (barrel key type) from an Italian seller. The solid (flat) key version from my collection was also purchased in Italy. And I have seen one or two more of these restraints offered by Italians. But I have never seen one offered by a German or Austrian seller, although most collectors think that they are of German or Austrian origin. Alex R. Nichols wrote in "Volume II" that an former Luftwaffe pilot told that the cuffs were made in German war camps. But once again, I am really wondering why I have never seen one sold in Germany. The Italian dealer told me that the officer of the Italian police who had given the Dollar-handcuffs to him explained that these handcuffs are of Austrian-Hungarian origin. They were found in an old house next to the shore of the river Ticino in the region of the Piemont, North Italy, where Piemont's troops defeated an invasion of the Austrian-Hungarian army. That would speak for the Austrian origin of the restraint but also for World War One time . Any ideas?





All keys shown are not original.

Regards,
Guenter aka Atame
www.atame.info

Click to expand...

I have one without key. In nice condition with original bynner. I try to find original key or I could sell it without key. Any offer? I do not know how can I put here photos, maybe on e-mail.

Recently I bought two nice Dollar-Handcuffs (barrel key type) from an Italian seller. The solid (flat) key version from my collection was also purchased in Italy. And I have seen one or two more of these restraints offered by Italians. But I have never seen one offered by a German or Austrian seller, although most collectors think that they are of German or Austrian origin. Alex R. Nichols wrote in "Volume II" that an former Luftwaffe pilot told that the cuffs were made in German war camps. But once again, I am really wondering why I have never seen one sold in Germany. The Italian dealer told me that the officer of the Italian police who had given the Dollar-handcuffs to him explained that these handcuffs are of Austrian-Hungarian origin. They were found in an old house next to the shore of the river Ticino in the region of the Piemont, North Italy, where Piemont's troops defeated an invasion of the Austrian-Hungarian army. That would speak for the Austrian origin of the restraint but also for World War One time . Any ideas?





All keys shown are not original.

Regards,
Guenter aka Atame
www.atame.info

Click to expand...

Hi George, do you wish to buy a key?

Recently I bought two nice Dollar-Handcuffs (barrel key type) from an Italian seller. The solid (flat) key version from my collection was also purchased in Italy. And I have seen one or two more of these restraints offered by Italians. But I have never seen one offered by a German or Austrian seller, although most collectors think that they are of German or Austrian origin. Alex R. Nichols wrote in "Volume II" that an former Luftwaffe pilot told that the cuffs were made in German war camps. But once again, I am really wondering why I have never seen one sold in Germany. The Italian dealer told me that the officer of the Italian police who had given the Dollar-handcuffs to him explained that these handcuffs are of Austrian-Hungarian origin. They were found in an old house next to the shore of the river Ticino in the region of the Piemont, North Italy, where Piemont's troops defeated an invasion of the Austrian-Hungarian army. That would speak for the Austrian origin of the restraint but also for World War One time . Any ideas?





All keys shown are not original.

Regards,
Guenter aka Atame
www.atame.info

Click to expand...

It is question of price with shipping. Could you send me offer? Not flat the tube one, OK?

Recently I bought two nice Dollar-Handcuffs (barrel key type) from an Italian seller. The solid (flat) key version from my collection was also purchased in Italy. And I have seen one or two more of these restraints offered by Italians. But I have never seen one offered by a German or Austrian seller, although most collectors think that they are of German or Austrian origin. Alex R. Nichols wrote in "Volume II" that an former Luftwaffe pilot told that the cuffs were made in German war camps. But once again, I am really wondering why I have never seen one sold in Germany. The Italian dealer told me that the officer of the Italian police who had given the Dollar-handcuffs to him explained that these handcuffs are of Austrian-Hungarian origin. They were found in an old house next to the shore of the river Ticino in the region of the Piemont, North Italy, where Piemont's troops defeated an invasion of the Austrian-Hungarian army. That would speak for the Austrian origin of the restraint but also for World War One time . Any ideas?





All keys shown are not original.

Regards,
Guenter aka Atame
www.atame.info

Click to expand...

Put up an email address and i will contact you directly

Recently I bought two nice Dollar-Handcuffs (barrel key type) from an Italian seller. The solid (flat) key version from my collection was also purchased in Italy. And I have seen one or two more of these restraints offered by Italians. But I have never seen one offered by a German or Austrian seller, although most collectors think that they are of German or Austrian origin. Alex R. Nichols wrote in "Volume II" that an former Luftwaffe pilot told that the cuffs were made in German war camps. But once again, I am really wondering why I have never seen one sold in Germany. The Italian dealer told me that the officer of the Italian police who had given the Dollar-handcuffs to him explained that these handcuffs are of Austrian-Hungarian origin. They were found in an old house next to the shore of the river Ticino in the region of the Piemont, North Italy, where Piemont's troops defeated an invasion of the Austrian-Hungarian army. That would speak for the Austrian origin of the restraint but also for World War One time . Any ideas?





All keys shown are not original.

Regards,
Guenter aka Atame
www.atame.info

Click to expand...

e-mail: jitis@email.cz

A friend of mine  mailed me a picture of a handcuff he saw in a monastery on the island of Rab, Croatia. Interestingly, I must have walked by that same monastery in July (without entering it) and never saw it. 

What is interesting that Croatia was part of the Austrian Empire between 1527 and 1868. So if the Austrians left those handcuffs there, along with the weapons, that makes them Austrian and puts them before 1868. Of course they may also have been used later on.

Here is the photo:
https://www.magentacloud.de/lnk/KPitjWnT#file

Rab is here:
https://www.google.com/maps/search/rab+ ... a=!3m1!1e3

An article on the history of the area:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_o ... (Habsburg)

Nils

The dollar cuffs are Italian.  In Michel Robin's book he shows several documents and advertising information that proved to me that they were Italian.  I also bought several items that came out of a museum there.  

There are three models two are shown in this thread.  The third one does not have a locking mechanism and requires a padlock. 

Ron