Really Old Socket Set...ID?

[VocaTexas]

I ran across this old socket set a couple of weeks ago in a junk store. I was wondering if it is worth going back for. Anybody know what it is and it's approximate value?

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[3baygarage]

The ratchet looks like a Walden Worcester too.

I wouldn't pay a whole lot for it. I used to see pressed steel sets at estate sales all the time. That's going back 10-15 years. They never interested me much but now I wish I had collected them.

 

[jakemac]

The sockets themselves might be RAY.
Very old set.

 

[four.cycle]

Walden Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts

Looks similar to a No. 26 or a No. 27 set, but those sets contained a different type of ratchet. Yours there has the earlier "wire" type ratchet in it.

As far as "value": its worth is what a willing buyer is prepared to pay for it at point of sale.
You will see similar (stamped steel) sets made by Frank Mossberg Company listed on Ebay, ranging from $30 - $150, but those are asking prices.
I don't see that many Walden sets like that listed on Ebay, but I would assume that "value" would be similar, if not the same, as the Mossberg.



As mentioned just above, it might be a Walden ratchet tossed into a box of Mossberg (or Packard/RAY) sockets.
Check the sockets and other pieces and see if they're stamped with a makers mark or name.
There is a list of manufacturers marks and logos at Alloy-Artifacts.org HERE:
http://alloy-artifacts.org/trademarks-and-logos.html
(scroll way down until you find the tiny pictures.)

 

[VocaTexas]

He's asking $50. I thought that might be a bit high. I didn't check to make absolutely sure, but it looks like a couple of sockets are missing, too.

 

[3baygarage]

That's the thing. That type is hard to tell when something's missing or mixed and matched. Often, something worn out, broken, missing. That could apply to just about any socket set though. I would try and beat him down some if you really want it. They're cool, part of history.

 

[four.cycle]

He's asking $50. I thought that might be a bit high. I didn't check to make absolutely sure, but it looks like a couple of sockets are missing, too.

I've looked at a LOT of sets like that on Ebay - in various brands - and I can count on one hand the number of them I've seen that were 100% complete when I compare the contents to those old catalog pages. Virtually all of them are missing some widget.
You CAN pick up onesie-twosies off Ebay, but sellers want $10-$12 bucks a pop for a single socket, which is just crazy.
Check the condition of the box, which is no doubt a good part of the intrinsic value of the set.

To be candid, if I did have $50 laying around that I had no better use for, and I couldn't find anything better, I'd still try to beat the guy down at least $10 or $15 bucks on that one based on what I'm seeing from this end.
But then, that's just me.