Hello and Thanks for accepting me in the group. I have an old pair of handcuffs that I would like to identify and get an appro age on. They are stamped but not totally decipherable. They are unusual in the where the key whole is located , its not on the face but on the inside section. Here are some pics .
What you have is a set of Tower bottom keyhole single lock cuffs. This was the second version bottom keyhole Tower made, the first version has twisted chain links and the keyhole looks like the letter P. I’m not certain of the exact date but I believe these are from the 1870’s. Nice set of cuffs to have. Ron J
Thanks Ron , I really appreciate your help !
Vic
Unknown / guest 17 Aug 2023
#4The stamp is hard to fully decipher but I can make out the letters UNEL on the upper line .
Vic I have two sets of this cuff. Each cuff has stamps at different places. Here’s pictures of the stamps on mine. Ron J
Unknown / guest 17 Aug 2023
#6The UNEL you are seeing is JUNE17 I believe. Ron J
Vic
Unfortunately it can be difficult to pin down exactly when these old Tower irons were made but there was a Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia that ran from May to November in 1876 and Tower was heavily represented there with his complete line on display. Photos show that by that time the key way had been moved from the “edge” of the lock case to the front or face of the lock case which means your cuffs were a very early production run.
Hope this helps.
Spencer
Thank You Spencer ! Its nice to know . I plan on selling them and all this info is helpful in that endeavor.
