Re: Alpine Safe & Lock Co., Cincinnati, O. U.S.A.

Most common these days is "Three time left to the first number, two times right to the second number, one time left to the third number, right until it stops, turn the handle/key if there is one, open the door."

On older/cheaper locks, the "right until it stops" step may not exist.

On better locks, there may be a "Four times right" before this sequence.

No. Serious safe lock combinations are changable, and anyone who really cares about security changes the combo the moment they get the safe. At best you might be able to find out what the factory combination was -- probably 25-50-25 or 50-50-50 or something like that, chosen simply because it has to be set to something and these are easy to remember (and everyone knows never to use them "for real.") Sometimes you get a particularly stupid owner who leaves the safe set to one of these, so it can't hurt to try them -- but you've got better odds trying your grandfather's birthdate or other numbers that might have been meaningful to him.

Depends on exactly what model, exactly what condition, and whether you can find someone who actually wants it.

If the door is open, a pro can probably give you the combination fairly easily and cheaply. If it's locked closed, only an expert is likely to be able to open it without destroying it (and most amateurs can't even manage that much). Having a pro do so will co$t. One fairly common compromise in that regard is "If you can open it, you can have it as (part of?) your payment; I just want to get whatever's inside of it out and then get it off the property."

Note: If the door is open, DO NOT close it until you've had a pro do a preventative maintainance of the lock and linkages. If there's any malfunction, closing the door is begging for a huge bill to get it open again; it's far cheaper to get it serviced before the lockout occurs than after.

Most of your questions have already been answered, but I thought I'd add the following...

I have a very similar safe in my basement, mainly as a conversation piece. I don't use it as a fire safe -part of it's original purpose - because most of the fire protection built into it was gone years ago. I have a little Sentry for protection important papers and other "non-negotiables".

Back to the old cast-iron safe... Mine has three numbers in the combination (not counting the "last number" that it stops on. The opening sequence is

What is it worth? Other than sentimental value, you might get $100 if it's in good shape *and open - with a working combination*. However, to get it open, you're probably looking at $200 - $350, (plus repairs if it can't be manipulated and needs to be drilled), depending on where you are.

Bobby