A1906 U.S. Post Office Lock Box Door Coin Bank — Bluefield, WV, Walnut Case

Box 623 was a real address once. Someone in Bluefield, West Virginia knew its combination, checked it on the way to the coal yard, thumbed through the day's post on a Tuesday in 1906. The door that secured it — cast iron, pebble-textured black, with U S in raised brass letters flanking the eight-position combination dial — is the same door that opens here. Little Wood Works of South Carolina fitted it into a hand-built walnut case and cut a slot through the brass federal-eagle medallion on the lid, turning a century of postal infrastructure into something you can drop a quarter into. The transformation is honest about what it is; nothing has been refinished or dressed up.

The door itself is the object. The interior face carries the original sliding lock bar, a cast "PATENTED" cartouche over the latch mechanism, and a brass-framed reverse-painted glass number panel reading 623 in gilt and red shadowblock numerals — the same face that box holders read from the lobby side. Combination-lock box doors like this entered widespread postal service after 1885, when the Post Office began standardizing away from the older key-lock "pigeon hole" boxes. By 1906, a small-city post office in the Pocahontas Coalfield — Bluefield was then a fast-growing rail and coal junction — would have had a lobby full of them. The combination is provided to the winning bidder.

• Original installation: U.S. Post Office, Bluefield, West Virginia, c. 1906
• Conversion to coin bank: Little Wood Works, Batesview Drive, South Carolina
• Accompanied by signed Certificate of Authenticity (Jane Ingram, owner, Little Wood Works) and lock box history pamphlet

• Walnut-cased coin bank with original cast lock box door
• Certificate of Authenticity, signed by Jane Ingram
• Little Wood Works "Lock Box History" informational pamphlet
• Combination provided to winning bidder

CONDITION

Very Good with no remarkable damage. The cast door shows honest age — paint loss to the raised edges, light verdigris at the brass fittings, and softened gilt on the number panel — consistent with original postal service use and not with damage. The walnut case is clean and tight with a warm finish; the maker's foil label to the underside is partially rubbed but legible.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall: 7 1/4" H × 7 1/8" W × 6 1/2" D
• Weight: 4 lbs 6.8 oz
• Box Number: 623
• Case Wood: Walnut
• Door Material: Cast iron with brass fittings, glazed reverse-painted number panel
• Lock Type: Eight-position combination dial (combination provided)
• Origin of Door: Bluefield, WV Post Office, c. 1906
• Cabinetmaker: Little Wood Works, Batesview Drive, SC
• Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale — Not Included