Key Facts About Locks

Question: I have a collection of padlocks. Only a few of them have keys. Does a lack of original keys diminish their value?--B.G.

Answer: If you have an original key for a collectible padlock, the value of the padlock is enhanced, according to collectors. But, they add, this is not an absolute rule.

For example, a sought-after railroad padlock, or a so-called logo lock, which carries the name of a particular company, may be quite valuable on its own without relying on an original key to make it desirable in the eyes of collectors.

Collector prices have ranged from less than $50 for old brass locks to well above $200 for railroad padlocks.

Padlocks made of brass and iron are favored among collectors.

If padlocks have company names or fancy patterns, so much the better. To be of collectible value, though, they should be relatively free of cracks and corrosion.

From about the time of the Civil War, when mass production of padlocks took off in the United States, until World War I--a favorite time period for collectors--there were more than 150 American lock manufacturers with whom collectors are familiar. Many of these firms have been listed in padlock reference works.

Because thousands of companies had custom locks made with their names on them, collecting padlocks can be a challenge, even to the experienced collector.

Adding to this complexity is the fact that a number of counterfeit padlocks have surfaced in recent years at flea markets and elsewhere, collectors say.