I have done a little research on Milner Safes, and as a professional lock / safesmith - I would have to say it would be a little pricey to open it depending on a few variables. First of all, if it is something you want to have done with no damage done to the safe (drilling, etc) the price would go up. From what I have read, Milner safes are not your typical 3 dial - 6 hour manipulation jobs. they seem to have all kinds of safeguards in them as well as extra wheels and false gates - making them a VERY good safe - but sadly hard to deal with if the combination is missing.
However, there is hope.. If you can find a local safesmith with a manipulation rig { A laptop computer hooked to a mechanical safe cracking machine }, you may be able to use that to open it (but this may not work). If it does, you would be looking at aout $250 USD. If it has to be hand done, with no penetration (no drilling), I would estimate it as around a $500 job. The time could run into days or even weeks of work, again depending on your preferences.
Drilling it open is also not “easy” as there are re-lockers and other pitfalls the safesmith will have to deal with, and with the age of the piece, I (a) would hate to see it drilled and (b) because of its age (again) there would be little / no information as to drill points and safety information, thus making drilling a crap shoot.
All in all, you will just have to call around and see if someone can help in your area. If you lived close to me, I would come out and take a free look at it for you just for the challenge, so don’t be afraid to call around and ask. You may find a intrested smith out there!
