I thought bitcoinhackers might like this: a display of lock mechanisms from the 1500’s, seen in the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands. There are some pretty wild designs in there.
How to guard valued possessions is a timeless question. Some things change, others stay the same!
@Sosthene They really are, pretty amazing considering the production tech limitations at the time.
I wonder how close of a match you'd need to make a counterfeit key for some of them? ie. How closely did the locking mechanism fit with the keys?
@htimsxela I guess you wouldn't need to make a very precise copy to unlock the door, but still even an approximate would have been pretty expensive to make at the time
@Sosthene I think you're right, and that was actually the discussion I had with a friend while looking at the exhibit: if the cost of attack is higher than the reward, then you have a reasonable assurance of security.
@htimsxela those are pretty futuristic for 500 years old stuff