Might be a good candidate for Bingster's auction contest. Interesting super early touchtone prototype..... :o :o :o
http://tinyurl.com/lxyroa
I'm going out on a limb and starting @ $550
S C O R E B O A R D
$225 - bingster
$445 - brinybay
$550 - Dan
Sold for $589.99
$650 - HobieSport
$829.58 - bwanna
$876.21 - Dennis Markham
$945 - Dan/Panther
$3200 - foots
$4500 - JorgeAmely
$5000 - McHeath
If that really is a WE, it will probably go for more than that. It sure looks like the real McCoy. I am drooling already.
A prototype plucked reed 302 tone prototype sold about 6 or 9 months ago for something like $18k if I remember correctly.
Looks like a winner, Dan. This is officially Auction 32! Get your guesses in before the final day and you might be the winner!
What a cool and unique phone, with lots of great historical interest. That reed plucked deal did go for something in the high 17k range as I recall, and so I'm going to guess that this one will be in the $5000 buck range.
Let it be said that I started the bidding at $0.99 I am currently the high bidder. Let the fun begin...
I want to use my clunker's money to pay for it: $4500 ;D ;D ;D
Wasn't there just a post a couple weeks ago with a baby blue set just like that ?
I doubt the prototype handle, I'll say $945.00
D/P
$445
$3200.00
It appears to be built on a 1955 chassis, curious eh? Guess they just went to the warehouse and grabbed some old black 500s to rig this one up. The keys are pretty much what the 1500 would have, compared to earlier touch tone prototypes, and Northern Electric would make a phone almost just like this years later.
Speaking of which, hey Hobie where are the pics of the inner guts of the aqua China made 3500 you bought a while back? Enquiring minds want to see. :)
Quote from: McHeath
Speaking of which, hey Hobie where are the pics of the inner guts of the aqua China made 3500 you bought a while back? Enquiring minds want to see. :)
Oh yeah, thanks for the reminder. I'm just about to get my Photoshop up and running again. I'll post pics when I do on this thread:
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1177.0
-Matt
$876.21
$650.
Seems to be hung up (pun intended) on $52.
i'm with d/p. i am skeptical of the proto-type claim. people are crazy tho, i'm gonna say 829.58$
Hmmm. Not going up nearly as fast as I thought, and I don't see anything mentioned int either the ATCA or TCI forums.
Maybe its a dud.
$150 for me
Gee, less than an hour and only $104
I got outbid on my 99 cent bid :D
Very interesting. 30 minutes to go and 9 bids, but not much price. Wonder if it's going to do a last 30 seconds insane bid war?
Sold for $600!
If my cackle-ations are right, that makes Dan our winner! Hmmm... This auction was Dan's idea, and Dan's the winner. You got some 'splainin to do!
Congratulations, Dan! And stay tuned for the next auction!
Wow, what are the odds I guessed right from the beginning! I couldn't even slot my guess between the others! I'm glad it sold for a lot because i thought it looked rare and legit. And no, I wasn't the winning bidder either :D
Congratulations, at least on your guessing skills, Dan. Can I interest you in a trip to Las Vegas??
Ha ha.
Congrads to the winna!
I confess to being puzzled by the price, if there were only 200 of them made, and the survival rate has to be low, and it's a rare touch tone prototype, then why so little? (as if 600 is little)
Ah e-bay.
I don't believe the 200 figure either. A while back there was an e-Bay auction for a Western Electric A1 that the seller claimed that there were only 200 of them made in 1927. Well, it is true that they were only made for one year and that they were quickly replaced by the "B" mount commonly called a 102, but it seems like so many serious collectors have one. About once every week or two one shows up on e-Bay. They usually go for about $800 to $1,000 but they certainly are out there, and there had to have been thousands and thousands of them made. I even have one. (I probably paid too much) >:(
Sellers often like to use, shall we say, a little puffery in describing their goods.
All that being said, I think I really would have liked to have had that phone. I could not afford to do any serious bidding on it, and I think that it probably was original, and if so, the buyer probably got a good deal.