Old chest

My wife and I were snooping around in the old farm house on our property and found a couple old chests. My grandpa said it belonged to his grandparents.

I was wondering if you guys might know anything about them or have any cool info. There’s another one that belonged to my grandmas grandparents still in the farm house.

We were planning on cleaning it up and using it in our living room. Basically try to keep it from decomposing and possibly pass it along to our kids.

Here are a couple pictures before knocking the dust off of it just as we found it. I’ll post a couple more after we get it cleaned up.

And again I click on something that could have had a whole different meaning..........

A piece of glass on top and that would make a pretty awesome coffee table.

I've used one like that as a coffee table for years. Good storage, too.

Do either of them have any labels, indicating they were shipped?

Great for shipping bodies.

@Jeppo

the one pictured has a stamp on the lock that says worchester metal goods co.

maybe we’ll find more when it’s cleaner. It’s also lined with wall paper looking material on the inside.

The interior appears original. Nice find.

A great product to use on the wood is Kramer’s antique improver.

https://www.amazon.com/IMA-Kramers-Best-Antique-Improver/dp/B00655CRA0

Like old firearms ... clean it gently ... no wire brushes or sanding ... originality is key. Be very careful with the leather handles and condition them thoroughly to keep them from cracking any further. A lot of people “refinished” them for decoration but collectors want original.

I have several of these in the attic that I got from grandparents and other older relatives. I know we will never do anything with some of them - don’t have room for them all. What are good options for places to sell them and to understand how much to ask for them?

I've got a Lane Hope Chest made in 1926 that I'd like to sell. From what I have found online, they are worth between $200-$400. Mine has a spot on the top where someone sat a glass on it. I'd definitely let it go for $200.

I have one almost identical but it has a round top. Belonged to my grandmother. When I was cleaning out my mothers house after she died, I started asking around thinking it might be worth a few bucks. After no family takers, I looked on Craigslist and there were a good many from about the same era and in around the same condition and the going price seems to be from $75-150 and no one is buying at these prices. You would probably get a better price selling in classifieds around a big city. Nothing sells for much around here. None of us have any money.

SPST said:

I've got a Lane Hope Chest made in 1926 that I'd like to sell. From what I have found online, they are worth between $200-$400. Mine has a spot on the top where someone sat a glass on it. I'd definitely let it go for $200.

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Since I once worked for an insurance company that insured Lane Furniture, I'll just leave this here: https://lanefurniture.com/page/product-safety

https://www.cpsc.gov/content/cpsc-u...-latcheslocks-on-lane-and-virginia-maid-cedar