Don't Melt Your Collectible Linotype Slugs

[iraiam]

Just a note that there are collectors willing to pay money for Linotype Slugs that are unique or collectible. be careful what you melt, a collector may give you enough for them to replace it with whatever kind of lead you want several times over.

I acquired a large number of typesetting slugs some time ago, in this batch of slugs was a section of WWII era Nazi slugs, complete with all the symbols you would expect to see on Nazi party letter head of various sizes, some complete with very old packaging.

I suspected they might be worth something, so I did not melt them down, recently I ran into a collector of all kinds of Allied and Axis WWII stuff, I mentioned these to him and he was interested. I brought over all I had and he made a surprising offer that I could not refuse.

[bangerjim]

That is NOT linotype! It is in the name lino-type....."type in a line".

What you are referring to are "printer's ornaments" and advertisements from the hand-set type era that is either mono or foundry type. And ANY ornament element (not the letters) is worth far more than the lousy little bit of tin and antimony in there! don't melt them.

bangerjim

[dtknowles]

That is NOT linotype! It is in the name lino-type....."type in a line".

What you are referring to are "printer's ornaments" and advertisements from the hand-set type era that is either mono or foundry type. And ANY ornament element (not the letters) is worth far more than the lousy little bit of tin and antimony in there! don't melt them.

bangerjim

Yeah but what to do with all this semi collectable stuff I have. I don't even want to bother with a yard sale, I even stopped sell my excess brass, it is just too much hassle for the money. I can melt mine down that should make yours even more rare and increase its value.

Tim

[uscra112]

I know a tourist trap in Idaho (antique store) that had a 5 gallon bucket of those things, and sold them all at silly money to the rich folks going thru town, headed to Sun Valley. The shop owner is a friend, but friendship didn't extend to selling them to me at $1 a pound! Can't blame her - she was getting more like $30 a pound from the marks.

I'd be amazed if you didn't get even sillier money selling on evilBay, if you are bent that way.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Back in the `80`s I used to do odd plumbing jobs other than my job as an Industrial pipefitter/plumber. A gas station I often stopped at lost their heat one winter`s night and naturally the water lines froze and broke. I got the job of repairing the water and restrooms to service. While trying to move an old wooden cupboard I noticed it had the bottom shelf full of newspaper wrapped square blocks about 1" thick by about 10 inches long and about 4" wide. Turns out it was a complete edition of a small town newspaper/gazette from the mid `50`s. I asked the station owner about it, his reply was "that`d be a fair trade for the plumbing job". There was 300+ lb. of lino in print strips and spacers from printing that edition of the weekly paper. I cast the daylights out of that stuff and sold some to other casters for their rifle boolets. I finally ran out in the `90`s.Robert

[iraiam]

That is NOT linotype! It is in the name lino-type....."type in a line".

Quite right, although I am a 22 year veteran of the printing industry, Linotype and Letterpress was before my time.

[bbqncigars]

I worked at a local print shop twenty years ago that still used an old Heidelberg (sp) letterpress for specialized jobs (embossing, diecutting etc). That old 'whirlybird' was a rather awesome piece of machinery. I loved setting it up and running it.

[Bigslug]

Quite right, although I am a 22 year veteran of the printing industry, Linotype and Letterpress was before my time.

My grandfather worked in newspaper printing from the end of WWII to when he retired in the late '80's/early '90's. Too bad Pop and I didn't get into casting until about 6-7 years ago, or we would have played that cheap linotype angle TO THE HILT.

We started handloading in the mid 1980's and went through the common phases of trying commercial cast bullets (because they were cheap) and not shooting commercial cast (because they leaded like crazy and we didn't understand why at the time). Now that casting for ourselves, we recently dug out all the old commercial cast slugs we bought circa 1990-1994 for a smeltdown and ran them on the Cabine Tree hardness tester - a lot of straight-up linotype in that pile, probably bought dirt cheap by the casting companies from printers who were switching over to digital means. I guess timing was everything. . .

[trusleymike]

Hope I'm not being our of order here but I'm selling my shooting stuff and I noticed a pile of Linotype lingering under a bench in my garage.

Sad to say, I am one of those who first wrote software ("TypeCraft") and developed equipment (links to Linotron 202 digital typesetter) that said goodbye to hot metal typesetting. Sorry! However, the Linotype under my bench came from a regional newspaper in England before they went digital.

If anyone in England is interested there is a photograph under "reloading" on bitbarn dot co dot uk. http://www.bitbarn.co.uk/sale/reloading.htm. (Bit expensive to ship across the pond <g>)

[SWANEEDB]

Next week i'll be doing a road trip too pick up more lino, mono and foundry type, a couple weeks ago I picked up about 440 lbs of the good stuff, I know there is more than that left, all the drawers are still full and many have the large blocks of 'I don't know what', also will take pics of the printing machine and other equipment that was used, will be a big job to get all this equipment out of the basement but the folks want it OUT, not too sure if the house was built after the equipment was installed, I know the big machine will have too be taken apart too some extent to remove, knowing the folks they will have all the instructions that ever came with the equipment. Possible museum somewhere would want it, we'll see.