Patents

The seal mechanism used is the James E. Thomson Patent # 44757 dated October 18, 1864.

The following patent dates are stamped on the obverse of the shackle: September 28, 1852, October 16, 1860, and April 18, 1865.

The October 16, 1860 patent date is for patent # RE1063 which is a reissuse for patent # 21636 dated September 28, 1858.

The September 28, 1852 patent date represents a problem as there were NO patents issued for the entire year of 1852 that were applicable to this padlock. For now I am going to assume that the year is an error, and the date should have been September 28, 1858 representing patent # 21636.

The April 18, 1865 patent date represents yet another problem. There is only one patent issued for the entire year of 1865 that is applicable. Patent # 47352 dated April 18, 1865 was issued to Daniel T. Brown and assigned to James H. McWilliams. I am going to assume that there was a subsequent assignment of this patent to Thomas L. Pye.