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What is the difference in price between a copper deposit casket and a bronze cast casket?
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
The question is somewhat difficult to answer because copper deposited casket were manufactured until the 1980s only. Cast bronze and copper deposited caskets are the most expensive and the most heavy metal caskets available. While cast bronze caskets weigh between 1,000 and 1,200 lbs, copper deposit caskets have a weight between 600 and 800 lbs. The price difference between these caskets (which were manufactured by the Boyertown Burial Casket Company and by the National Casket Company of Boston) in the 1970s was as follows: cast bronze casket had a wholesale price between US $ 15,000 and 19,000 while copper deposited caskets cost between $ 5,000 and 6,000 wholesale (plus approximately $ 1,000 for an optional silver plated exterior).
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
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Is there a difference between a solid bronze and a bronze deposit casket?
Yes, there is a difference, but is less important than the difference between solid (sheet) bronze and cast bronze caskets. Solid bronze caskets are welded from sheets of wrought bronze. Bronze deposit caskets too, but they have an additional coat of bronze which is applied by an electrolytic (or similar) process to a base made of sheet bronze. This increases the thickness of the bronze walls and guarantees a smooth surface.
Is there a difference in material and price between a solid copper casket and a copper deposit casket?
Yes, there is a difference, and it's a big one. Solid copper caskets are made from sheets of wrought copper which usually have a weight of 32 ounces per square foot (standard caskets) or 48 oz, in rare cases even 64 oz or more. The typical weight of a sheet copper casket is between 200 and 300 lbs. 32 oz solid copper caskets are available from $ 2,000 upwards (Online casket retailers). Copper deposit caskets are produced in a time consuming process in which molecules of copper are deposited upon a casket form (usually made of 48oz copper sheets). Copper deposit caskets weigh between 600 and 800 lbs because the typical thickness of their walls is about 1/8 of an inch (3 mm). The cost of copper deposit casket is so high that they were manufactured until the 1980s only (by the Boyertown Burial Casket Co. and by the National Casket Company of Boston). At that time, a copper deposit casket was about a dozen times more expensive than a standard 32oz solid copper casket. The optional silver plating of the exterior would add another 25% to the cost of the casket. This price was exceeded only by cast bronze caskets (weighing between 1,000 and 1,200 lbs), which in the 1970s were about three times more expensive than copper deposit caskets. As mentioned, copper deposit caskets are no longer in production. The closest modern equivalent probably would be the 300 lbs heavy 48oz thermo-deposited bronze casket called "Marquis", manufactured by the York-Hoover Company; the casket costs about ten times the price of a standard 32 oz bronze coffin. The most famous copper deposit caskets were made by the National Casket Company. These copper deposit caskets had no joints or welding seams nor did the attachments of the handles penetrate the casket walls. National seamless copper deposit casket were used for the funerals of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (# 21260 bronze plated), William Randolph Hearst (# 21200 as triple lid inner glass sealer), Elijah Muhammad (silver plated model # 21200 as glassless double lid sealer) Elvis Presley (# 21200) and Aaliyah Haughton (# 20761 ornamental corner design, silver plated). The Boyertown Burial Casket Company manufactured several copper deposit designs, for example a copper deposited bronze casket (model # 2471) which had a complete solid bronze inner casket inside of it. The casket had a triple lid (outer and middle metal lids and an inner glass lid); the weight was probably around 700 lbs.
What companies manufacture or manufactured copper deposit caskets?
Currently, copper deposit caskets are no longer produced in the US. Copper deposit caskets are caskets which - unlike solid copper caskets which are welded from sheets of wrought copper - are made in a time electrolytic process in which copper molecules are deposited upon a casket form which usually is made of 48 oz copper sheets. While sheet copper caskets weigh between 200 and 300 lbs and are available from $ 2,000 upwards (Online casket retailers' price), copper deposit caskets weigh between 600 and 800 lbs (the typical thickness of the casket walls is 1/8 inch respectively 3mm) and cost up to a dozen times more than standard 32 oz sheet copper caskets. Only cast bronze caskets are more heavy (between 1,000 and 1,200 lbs) and around three times more expensive (currently between $ 160,000 and 270,000). Until the 1980s, copper deposit caskets were manufactured by the Boyertown Burial Casket Company and by the National Casket Company of Massachusetts. The famous National Seamless Copper Deposit caskets had no joints or welding seams nor did the attachments of the handles penetrate the casket walls. The caskets were offered in several designs including a heavily rounded corner design and an urn shaped one. A National Seamless Copper Deposit Casket was used, for example, for the burial of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (a bronze plated round corner model # 21260), for the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst (a triple lid round corner design), for Elvis Presley (a round corner model # 21200) for the religious leader Eliajah Muhammad (a silver plated round corner double lid model #21200) and for the burial of singer Aaliyah Haughton (a silver plated model # 20761 with lavish ornamental corners). Boyertown also manufactured several designs. One of their deposit caskets (the model # 2471) was a double walled copper deposited 48 oz bronze unit, featuring an outer copper deposited 48oz bronze casket and another inner solid bronze casket; this luxury model had a hermetically sealed triple lid: the outer one was made of deposited copper and undivided, the middle one had divided panels made from bronze and the innermost lid was an undivided full length oval plate glass panel. The brass bar handles were attached in such a way that they did not penetrate the wall of the outer casket. The casket was available with either a statuary bronze finish or with silver plated exterior. Probably the closest modern equivalent to a copper deposit casket is the "Marquis" model of the York-Matthews Company, a thermo-deposit 48oz bronze casket, weighing around 310 lbs and offered at prices between $ 25,000 and 38,000.
Why was Elvis coffin made of copper and weighed 900 pounds?
Elvis was buried in the same type of casket as his mother 20 years before: in a National copper deposit casket. Copper deposit caskets are about three times as heavy as sheet copper casket. Elvis' sopper deposit casket had an empty weight between 600 and 800 lbs.
How heavy are luxury casket made from copper or bronze?
Standard copper and bronze caskets - made of 32 oz sheets of wrought metal (one square foot of a copper or bronze sheet weighing 32 ounces) have an (empty) weight starting around 200 lbs. More expensive copper and bronze caskets made of 48 oz (and in rare cases of 64 oz or 96 oz) sheets as well as caskets having a double lid usually weigh between 300 and 400 lbs. Copper deposit caskets (caskets made by electrolytically depositing copper molecules upon a casket form usually made of sheet copper) have a weight between 600 and 800 lbs. Cast bronze caskets (made from molten bronze poured into a casket mold) weigh between 1,000 and 1,200 lbs.
Where can a national seamless copper deposit casket be purchased?
These caskets are no longer made. They were originally made by National Casket Company but this company is no longer in business. The only ones left are found in funeral homes that have not sold them. Let me add the following information: Currently there is an ad of a copper deposit casket at http://www.nomispublications.com but it is doubtful if this is a model originally made by National. It does not look like that and the ad says "nickel plated copper deposit", which does not fit either. The closest equivalent which is currently available seems to be the "Marquis", a thermo-deposited bronze casket manufactured by the York / Matthews casket company.
What was the former National Casket Company of Boston renowned for?
The National Casket Company, founded in 1890, was renown as one of the giants of the American casket industry, offering the largest line of designs. National became very famous through its top of the line products: copper deposit and cast bronze caskets.
What kind of casket was Elvis Presley buried in?
Elvis Presley was buried in a seamless copper deposit casket, design # 21200, manufactured by the (former) National Casket Company of Boston. Twenty years befor, Elvis's mother had been buried in the same type of casket (which at the time of her death retailed at $ 8,000). Copper deposit caskets are often described as "copper lined caskets" - a description which is misleading because it misses the big differences in production methods, weight and price of solid copper caskets versus copper deposit caskets. Solid copper caskets are welded (or soldered) from sheets of wrought copper, while copper deposit caskets are made in a time consuming electrolytic process by which molecules of copper are deposited upon a casket form. This provides the casket with extra strength and a very smooth and untarnished surface without welding seams or burns. Copper deposit caskets ususally have a wall thickness of 1/8" (3mm - about twice as thick as 48oz copper sheets) resulting in an empty weight between 600 to 800 lbs, while solid copper caskets weigh between 200 and 300 lbs. Pricewise, the difference is even bigger, although it is difficult to talk in current prices because copper deposit caskets were manufactured in the US until the end of the 1970s only. At that time, the wholesale price of a copper deposit casket was between $ 5,000 and 6,000 (plus about 1,000 for an optional silver plated exterior), while 32 oz solid copper caskets were available from around $ 500 wholesale already. Thus, the price of a copper deposit casket was about a dozen times that of the lowest priced solid copper sheet casket. The high price (as well as the enormous weight) of copper deposit caskets was exceeded only by that of cast bronze caskets (coffins which are cast from molten bronze like bells; they cost three times as much as copper deposit caskets and have a weight between 1,000 and 1,200 lbs). Copper deposit caskets were manufactured by two companies which are no longer in business, although they once were giants of the industry: the National casket company of Boston and the Boyertown Burial Casket Company. Both firms produced several copper deposit designs (and cast bronze caskets as well).The famous National seamless copper deposit caskets had no joints or welding seams nor did the attachments of the handles penetrate the casket walls. National copper deposit caskets (of different designs) were used for the funerals of many famous persons and celebrities other than just Elvis Presley, as for example of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, and singer Aaliyah Haughton.
How much does a metal burial casket weigh?
Standard metal caskets (20ga steel) weigh around 200 lbs empty. Most solid (sheet) copper or bronze caskets have a weight between 250 and 350 lbs. Copper deposit caskets (made of electrolytically deposited copper) between 600 and 800 lbs. Cast bronze caskets (cast from molten bronze like bells) between 1,000 and 1,200 lbs.
Where can you purchase a nationl casket?
If a casket made by the National Casket Company (of Boston) is meant, the question is difficult to answer because that famous casket manufacturer - once a giant of the industry - went out of business in the 1980s already. Some caskets made by the company, especially their extremely expensive copper deposit or cast bronze models, may be still around in a few funeral homes.
Are there major differences in the manufacturing process or in weight and price between a solid bronze casket and a cast bronze casket?
Yes, there are big differences. Ssolid bronze caskets are made from sheets of wrought bronze which usually are stamped and welded to form a casket, while cast bronze caskets are cast like bells from molten bronze. Standard 32oz bronze caskets (made of bronze sheets weighing 32 ounces per square foot) have an empty weight between 200 to 300 lbs, more expensive 48oz bronze caskets between 300 to 400 lbs., while cast bronze caskets weigh between 1,000 and 1,200 lbs. Currently (in 2014), cast bronze caskets cost both at the wholesale price level and in manufacturer's recommended retail prices around 50 times as much as standard 32oz solid bronze caskets.
Is a bronze casket more or less expensive than a copper casket?
Bronze caskets may be somewhat more expensive than copper caskets, but the price difference matters only in the lower price bracket of caskets made of semi precious metals; in the higher price brackets it seems to become irrelevant.
