1961 dated WE 500 with small plungers

[Sargeguy]

I picked up a WE500 as a gift for my brother-in-law of of eBay $5:

-dated 10-61 on base
-dated 8-1-58 on housing
-g1 handset
-neoprene feet
-small rounded black plungersMy 2 older 500's all have large, clear plungers. 

My other, older date 500s all have the clear plastic plungers.

How late did Western Electric use the small black plungers?

[Dennis Markham]

I never really noticed the plungers to be of a different size.  The clear plastic ones came along after the black Bakelite plungers.  I don't know the exact date but in the early 60's.  Many sets with an older bottom date had the plastic replaced during a refurbish and will have the clear plungers.  I have never seen a soft plastic set with plastic plungers.  But I have seen sets into the early 1960's with the black Bakelite plungers.  When I'm surfing eBay for an old black phone one of the clues I look for are the clear plungers.  It generally means hard plastic.

Here's a nice set that someone got a great deal on tonight.

http://tinyurl.com/5jwzu7

The auction has ended so you may have to make a secondary click to view the phone.

Dennis

[Sargeguy]

I guess they aren't really smaller or rounder than the clear plastic ones, when I really compare them side by side-its an optical illusion.  It's amazing how its hard to find two phones from that era that are exactly alike in all there features.

[McHeath]

They seem to have almost all been worked over in the Ma Bell refurb shop at some point.  That black phone that went for 10 bucks tonight on e-bay was pretty nice, and nice buy.