TP has a larger bronze bell, which, with its handle, measures 3 ft. The bell bears the mark for The Buckeye Bell Foundry, Cincinnati. I suspect this bell, at 12-inch diameter from lip to lip, was not originally mounted on a handle. It’d take a monstrously strong man to ring the thing. But let’s deal with the valuation of the bell alone. TP asked me, “What are the determinants of valuation of an American bell from the mid-19th to early 20th century?”
The kind of American bell that collectors look for are indeed from the period TP asked about, or earlier. Before electronic bell systems existed. One manually or mechanically manipulated this bell, rung it either by hand, ropes, or a pulley.
People used bells from this era for many purposes: churches, sports teams, hotels, schools used them. Ships used bells, so did railroads, fire departments, town halls, cemeteries, and bridge operators.
It’s All In the Sound
Bells come in many materials but perhaps the best are made of bronze. We also see cast iron and brass bells. Collectors prize bronze bells for their sound, because with bronze, you can make a larger bell, and a bigger more resonant sound. We measure the sound by the ‘hum’ length of the bell, and the loudness and perfection of the tone. This is a great art, determining quality of sound, so I will only deal with the obvious qualities of provenance and materials, and age.
Cast iron bells look good, but don’t sound as good. Brass bells have passable sound, and can be polished up to really shine. But the bell collector, also a connoisseur of sound, will prize the sound of bronze. TP, ring your bell and TIME how LONG the sound lasts.
A bell is measured by the diameter from lip to lip: to give you an idea, a typical older church bell will start at 28”. School house bells of this era will start at around 20.”
Condition Matters
Yes, bronze can crack, and bronze can become severely damaged in weather over time.
TP, your bell possesses a famous makers mark which increases value, The Buckeye Bell Foundry. Your bell, from the last few years of the 19th century, or early 20th century, was made by Vanduzen and Tift at Buckeye, very fine craftsmen, active from 1894-1950.
If you visited “The Bells of Hollywood,” located at the Hollywood Forever Memorial Park Cemetery, at Santa Monica Blvd and Gordon Street, you heard the chimes of twelve Vanduzen Buckeye bells, cast in 1908.
Previous to Vanduzen, George Washington Coffin (active 1837) cast bells for Buckeye. Why Cincinnati? Because to transported a bell in the 19th century, and a tower bell could weigh 2.5 tons, you better have a river close by. In the case of the Buckeye Foundry, within reach and navigability were the Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers.
Example of the Range of Value of a Buckeye bell
A GW Coffin bell at 21” diameter from 1856 will run you just under $10K. But an unsigned schoolteacher handbell can easily be purchased for under $75. The market is SLIM: not many homeowners want a big bell! Those organizations that DO, however, have to pay. When the market is specialized, either the material sold is very cheap or very expensive, with little middle range.
Other indicators of value are an intact clapper and the original mount for which the bell was made. Your original mount might have been an iron bracket; the bell is rung from a rope arm, where the bell doesn’t swing, but the clapper does the work. This type of bell is mounted to a beam. Another original type of mount for the larger bells is a wheel mount, which allows the whole bell to swing.
In Santa Barbara you have heard the sounds of a traditional carillon of bells, located at the Thomas M. Stroke Student Publication Building at UCSB, installed in 1969, comprising of 61 bells (the largest of which weighs 2.5 tons), made by Petit and Fritsen of the Netherlands.
The value of your Buckeye bell from 1887 is $1,000 if that handle is original, with an intact clapper and no damage. But I suspect someone has changed the mount, which devalues the bell because the sound will be much different. A great resource for an appraisal by an expert might be Brosamer’s Bells, Inc., in Brooklyn, Michigan.