BEAN GIANT Handcuffs - Extremely RARE - PAT.NOV.1.'87

Bean Giants have to be my favorite. It seems that I am not the only one as the average price of these keeps going up.

You are bidding on an extremely rare BEAN GIANT....

Captain E. D. Bean of the Boston Police Department invented this restraint in 1887 and offered $500.00 to anyone who could escape from them. According to Bean, with both hands immobilized in this rigid cuff, and with the double locking mechanism, the key could not be put into the keyhole while a person's hands were in the restraint. The famous Houdini accepted the challenge and escaped from the restraint, but it is uncertain whether or not he ever collected the reward because he would not tell Bean how he accomplished it.

This Bean Giant measures 6" across by 2-3/4" high. It weighs 12.2 ozs. on a postage scale. I do not have the key. It's in nice shape but does have a few spots where the nickel is worn. I am neither an expert nor a collector of handcuffs, but I am told the nickel in these areas can be restored. I have not attempted to clean it up as I am not an expert, but here again, I am told it would polish up very nicely.

I have included photos of the front and back of the handcuffs and a closeup of the writing "PAT.NOV.1.'87" which appears on the back of the cuffs. I have also included some interesting info regarding the Bean Patent for these handcuffs. - eBay (11 Oct 2009)

This set of Bean Giants had a high bid of $1,900 (Plus $20.75 Shipping).

The new owner of the cuffs, Lars Holst, graciously sent me a photo of the cuffs, confirming that they work perfectly.



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