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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Posts
    2
    Country: United States

    Default Found old key, please help identify it?

    I found this old key today while mowing the lawn, in a stony area. I believe it was previously buried and recently came to the surface. It is 7cm long, solid and weighty. I tried looking online and found two very similar pictures, one identified as a prison key and the other identified as a safety deposit box key. I am interested in knowing if either of those could be correct, or if it is something else altogether. There are no markings other than the obvious number at the top and the same number in mirror image on the bottom edge (which is somewhat damaged). The mirror image is particularly fascinating to me. I don't know what kind of metal it is.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails image.jpg   image.jpeg   image.jpeg   image.jpeg  

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Posts
    26
    Country: United States

    Default

    It would be what is known as a watchman key

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Posts
    2
    Country: United States

    Default watchman key?

    Thank you BigTreeKeys for your reply. I am interested in knowing more about what this type of key would have been used for. I searched 'watchman key' online and came up with mostly ads and little actual information. From what I can gather, a watchman would make his rounds and at certain checkpoints, turn a key in a watchclock, to prove that he was going from point to point and not sleeping on the job. Is this correct? I am guessing that the mirror image number made an imprint on something in the lock? I don't know the history of the land around my house but I don't think there was ever anything nearby that would require a night watchman. Of course it may also be that the key was not lost around where it was originally used. Is there any way I can find out the approximate age of this key? I understand if you cannot give me more info than you already did, I am just very fascinated by this find. Is it possible that the key had anything to do with the railroad? There are tracks that run right past our house, and I believe they have been there a long time.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Posts
    26
    Country: United States

    Default

    Yep, that would be correct. You came up with a pretty good summary. Detex was one of the main companies making them. You can see a history of them and some pictures of their clocks here
    http://www.watchclocks.org/Types/Col...y/history.html

    Nowadays, they generally use wands and wall sensors to do it electronically, so the days of keyed watch clocks is at or near an end as companies phase them out for more modern methods.

    As for the age, I would guess 1920-1950, but maybe someone here who is more of an expert on this topic can contribute more. I've seen your exact key before, but you know how it goes...when you look for something you can no longer find it. You can try searching "watch(man) clock keys" or "watch(man) clock history" instead of just "watchman key" for a more direct search if you want to learn more about them.

    Without knowing your area and railroad, I'm not sure if it would have been used there or brought home and lost by someone. If there's something that would have needed monitoring, then it's certainly possible it was used there, but they were not used exclusively for railroads.

    Hope that helps some, let me know if you have any other questions, and I'll keep an eye out for your key still to help more with age.

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