Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jul. 25, 2013
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q/A
Amendment Flag	true
Amendment Description	Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (the Registrant) is filing this amendment (the Form 10-Q/A) to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 (the Form 10-Q), filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 26, 2013, solely to correct an error on the cover page. The cover page of the Form 10-Q incorrectly stated that the amount of the Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of July 25, 2013 was 26,976,963 shares. The cover page of this Form 10-Q/A correctly states that the number of shares of outstanding Common Stock of the Registrant on July 25, 2013 was 20,976,963. This Form 10-Q/A should be read in conjunction with the original Form 10-Q, which continues to be presented as of the date of the Form 10-Q. Except as specifically noted above, this Form 10-Q/A does not modify or update disclosures in the original Form 10-Q. Accordingly, this Form 10-Q/A does not reflect events occurring after the filing of the Form 10-Q or modify or update any related or other disclosures.
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Trading Symbol	SFE
Entity Registrant Name	SAFEGUARD SCIENTIFICS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000086115
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		20,976,963