Early Collins & Co. New York Axe Cache Dug Yesterday - Questions

marsh323

marsh323

Gold Member
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May 2, 2024
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He folks- I'm looking for some expert insight on these 3 early "COLLINS & Co. NEW YORK" axes I dug in Minnesota yesterday. They were all cached together with a hand-forged beaver trap, a trade axe and a few other things. I don't collect foundry-made axes, but I have heard these are quite rare and potentially valuable. The one highlighted below is in the best shape-- the others have some pitting.

I paid for a gold membership so would love any insight collectors of early Collins axes might have about the potential value of these. I'm also considering selling one or two- message me if you're interested-- I've had a lot of unsolicited interest on Facebook, but was advised this is where the serious collectors are. I want to be confident on the collector value before I commit to any sales. I may keep one of these axes, but would like to sell two.

Thanks in advance, and this is my first post, so let me know if I broke any rules.
Bill Marshall in Minnesota

440774976_1517843612275425_932208971703504131_n.jpg437547225_247659228389960_9012241211404577580_n.jpg 437714050_25427764943504835_7084311224973303755_n.jpg 437741444_892454025986972_1373920272728323006_n.jpg 437352481_1178715969961726_1020437719368236320_n.jpg 437370613_421910460581704_8609682962216519303_n.jpg
 
I don't really have any info, I just gotta say these are in amazing condition all things considered and I can think of a few members off the top of my head who will probably be interested and are honest enough to make you very fair values.

Just think that this axe is from the 1950's or so and wasn't even buried in the ground , yet the condition is fairly similar.


I sure would love to know what kind of ground they were in.
 
Thanks for chiming in! The soil up here is very kind to iron in many places- sandy loam is the best- water drains fast. I find a lot of even older trade axes (late 1600’s to mid-1800’s) and many are in great shape like these ones. Based on what these were cached with and the early stamp, I would guess these are very early- like 1830’s or 1840’s. I
 
marsh323 said:
Thanks for chiming in! The soil up here is very kind to iron in many places- sandy loam is the best- water drains fast. I find a lot of even older trade axes (late 1600’s to mid-1800’s) and many are in great shape like these ones. Based on what these were cached with and the early stamp, I would guess these are very early- like 1830’s or 1840’s. I
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Eyes and those Yankee bevels look fairly modern. My conservative guess would be around 1875. Douglas offered similar heads in 1870ies . M.H Jones was established in1874 and later changed name to A.G. Peck. Peck was still making heads with those Yankee bevels around the turn of the century
 
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When was Collins & Co making axes in New York? Collins Axe was in CT from 1826 onward.
 
Arathol said:
When was Collins & Co making axes in New York? Collins Axe was in CT from 1826 onward.
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Collins has never produced any axes in NY. Collins had only business office in NYC. NY location was used for marketing purposes when it comes to international sales (huge part of their business at that time)
 
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crbnSteeladdict said:
The eyes and those Yankee bevels look fairly modern. My conservative guess would be around 1875. Douglas offered similar heads in 1870ies . M.H Jones was established in1874 and later changed name to A.G. Peck. Peck was still making heads with those Yankee bevels around the turn of the century
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Thanks for your insight!
 
That's an interesting cache and I'm not qualified to say much about them, hopefully Miller 72 stops by or someone gives him a holler.
 
garry3 said:
That's an interesting cache and I'm not qualified to say much about them, hopefully Miller 72 stops by or someone gives him a holler.
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Is Miller 72 Mark Miller? If so, I'll email him since I communicate with him quite a bit about trade axes... Thank you!
 
marsh323 said:
Is Miller 72 Mark Miller? If so, I'll email him since I communicate with him quite a bit about trade axes... Thank you!
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Not sure, Collins is his thing though.
Please keep us updated and thanks for posting those.
 
crbnSteeladdict said:
Collins has never produced any axes in NY. Collins had only business office in NYC. NY location was used for marketing purposes when it comes to international sales (huge part of their business at that time)
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Yeah they had offices in NYC and in Hartford ......but I've never seen any indication that they made axes stamped as being made in NY. Stampings say Collinsville, or Hartford, or Guatemala, or Mexico etc but not NY. There were however many counterfeits using the Collins name made over the latter part of the 19th and early 20th century with many resulting lawsuits.
 
Arathol said:
Yeah they had offices in NYC and in Hartford ......but I've never seen any indication that they made axes stamped as being made in NY. Stampings say Collinsville, or Hartford, or Guatemala, or Mexico etc but not NY. There were however many counterfeits using the Collins name made over the latter part of the 19th and early 20th century with many resulting lawsuits.
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Ops' axe heads came from Collinsville factory, for sure. I have seen identical head with post 1876 Legitimus maker's mark.
Edit: Looks like I was wrong, :p

Collins&Co New York
Cast Steel Warranted



 
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Hello, been awhile.

I talked to him a few hours ago and there's an interesting plot twist. At least one is marked D. Collins & Co, making it one of the period knockoffs that eventually resulted in the legitimus stamp.

Does anybody know which forge made the D Collins and Co knockoffs?

Interestingly my understanding is that they were discovered in a trade camp. I don't think it's a huge mental leap to think that's a likely place to find knockoffs of the time. I've never seen one in unused condition before.

Really, really cool stuff he's got. Very clean, some of the axes are absolutely amazing.
 
Fmont said:
Hello, been awhile.

I talked to him a few hours ago and there's an interesting plot twist. At least one is marked D. Collins & Co, making it one of the period knockoffs that eventually resulted in the legitimus stamp.

Does anybody know which forge made the D Collins and Co knockoffs?

Interestingly my understanding is that they were discovered in a trade camp. I don't think it's a huge mental leap to think that's a likely place to find knockoffs of the time. I've never seen one in unused condition before.

Really, really cool stuff he's got. Very clean, some of the axes are absolutely amazing.
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Legitimus vs D. Collins
Used Josh's pics for comparison

437714050_25427764943504835_7084311224973303755_n-jpg.2563396


437741444_892454025986972_1373920272728323006_n-jpg.2563398



 
Fmont said:
Hello, been awhile.

I talked to him a few hours ago and there's an interesting plot twist. At least one is marked D. Collins & Co, making it one of the period knockoffs that eventually resulted in the legitimus stamp.

Does anybody know which forge made the D Collins and Co knockoffs?

Interestingly my understanding is that they were discovered in a trade camp. I don't think it's a huge mental leap to think that's a likely place to find knockoffs of the time. I've never seen one in unused condition before.

Really, really cool stuff he's got. Very clean, some of the axes are absolutely amazing.
Click to expand...
Very interesting! Yes, I think knockoffs could be peddled pretty easily by traders. The good news for the original owner is they're still very high quality axes. Didn't see much use, if any. Thanks for the work looking into these!
 
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