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ID #SA1229320
FOR SALE
£45
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An 18th Century Skeleton Key or Lock Pick
For sale by Rob Hall Antiques
for sale €53     $57
£45

Rob Hall Antiques

Sellingantiques Verified Since Aug 2025
Browse dealers 48 items
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Id #SA1229320
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An 18th Century Skeleton Key or Lock Pick

18th century
Description

A single 18th century iron lock pick or skeleton key.

Measuring: 18 cm (7")

British, late 18th century

Declaration

Rob Hall Antiques has dated this Wrought Iron Skeleton Key to the Georgian era.

Reference Numbers
Sellingantiques Reference
SA1229320
Description
A single 18th century iron lock pick or skeleton key.

Measuring: 18 cm (7")

British, late 18th century

Date of Manufacture

Rob Hall Antiques has dated this Wrought Iron Skeleton Key to the Georgian era.

Reference Numbers
Sellingantiques Ref
SA1229320
Rob Hall Antiques
Sellingantiques verified Since Aug 2025
Dealer Profile

You can view the stock and full dealer information on the Rob Hall Antiques Profile Page

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An 18th-century hand-forged wrought iron skeleton key featuring a looped bow handle, elongated cylindrical stem, and angled notched bit.
1 / 4
Archive I An 18th-century hand-forged wrought iron skeleton key featuring a looped bow handle, elongated cylindrical stem, and angled notched bit.

An 18th Century Skeleton Key or Lock Pick

Archive II An 18th-century hand-forged wrought iron skeleton key featuring a looped bow handle, elongated cylindrical stem, and angled notched bit. View II
Archive III An 18th-century hand-forged wrought iron skeleton key featuring a looped bow handle, elongated cylindrical stem, and angled notched bit. View III
Archive IV An 18th-century hand-forged wrought iron skeleton key featuring a looped bow handle, elongated cylindrical stem, and angled notched bit. View IV
Enlarged Archival View

Rob Hall Antiques
Telephone 07858 820345
Location
Northamptonshire
United Kingdom
Dealer Profile Page sellingantiques.co.uk/robhallantiques
Verified Since Aug 2025
Items For Sale 48
Items Sold 24
Rob Hall Antiques
Verified Since Aug 2025
View Dealer Info
Location: Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
Profile: sellingantiques.co.uk/robhallantiques
Verified
Aug 2025
For Sale
48
Sold
24
An 18th-century hand-forged wrought iron skeleton key featuring a looped bow handle, elongated cylindrical stem, and angled notched bit.
AN 18TH CENTURY SKELETON KEY OR LOCK PICK
Ref: SA1229320
An 18th-century hand-forged wrought iron skeleton key featuring a looped bow handle, elongated cylindrical stem, and angled notched bit.
Detail View 1
Detail View 2
Detail View 3
Archival Detail

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Cataloguer’s note

Written by Sellingantiques from the dealer’s photographs and listing
  • ObjectKeys
  • Period18th century
  • StyleGeorgian
  • MaterialWrought Iron
  • ColourDark Grey
  • MotifsLooped bow, Hand-hammered stem, Notched bit

This Georgian skeleton key or lock pick dates from the late 18th century and originates from Britain. Forged entirely from wrought iron, the piece presents a dark grey colouration with visible areas of rust, pitting, and hand-hammered texture along its elongated cylindrical stem. The design includes a distinctive looped bow handle at the top and an angled, notched bit at the lower end. Measuring 18 cm in length, the key displays the honest patination and surface wear associated with genuine antique utility hardware. Items of this type function well as decorative objects on a bookshelf, desk, or display cabinet within a gentleman's library study.

FAQs

During the 18th century, wrought iron keys and passkeys were hand-forged by blacksmiths to operate warded locks on doors, chests, and gates across domestic and commercial settings.

Blacksmiths crafted these items by heating iron bars, hand-hammering the metal to shape the shaft and bow, and cutting notch patterns into the bit to align with internal lock wards.

Authentic period pieces typically feature irregular hand-hammered marks, seam lines from manual shaping, surface oxidisation, and asymmetrical geometric details rather than uniform machine production.

Small metal antiques can be displayed on a bookshelf, arranged inside a shadow box frame, or set atop a stack of display books on a coffee table or desk.

Keep iron items in a low-humidity environment to prevent corrosion, gently clean surface dust with a dry cloth, and apply microcrystalline wax to protect against rust.
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