1948 Western Electric TT prototype found at estate sale.

[Russ Kirk]

Poplar1's comment about the last one for sale, sold for $18,000.00 on eBay, really got me thinking.  If this phone is worth $18,000.00, and the potential that 35 to 100 were made, makes me wonder why My pre-production 500, was estimated to be worth around $2,000.00. My phone has many components that many had never seen before, variations of components that were updated before production started, and no one has come up with even as much as an original photo of one. However the phone does match patent drawing going back to 1947 or maybe earlier.  In my opinion it may be the ONLY one in existence. Shouldn't it be worth a little more, and if not why not. Even Mo's picture phone went for $45,000.00, and there were several made. I don't get it.

Yes I'm Whining a bit.

D/P

Oh, you're not whining. I do think your set is worth quite a bit more than $2k. Of couse you could put it on ebay and find out.....

[Doug Rose]

Dan.....your '49 500 was a fabulous find. Great reading for the newer members who were not around for it. A new phone being introduced as WE's workhorse. Sixty eight years ago. To the casual collector or a person who grew up the 500 sets, it looked just the same to them.

The TT 302 is just a different animal, this has been WE's workhorse since 1937. Now with the TT with between 35 and 100 are known to have been made. How many are left? This is a true "gotta have."  Reality a "never gonna have."

When looking at the TT 302 you know you have something different at first glance. Only the advanced phone collector would understand that you have a rare find with tour '49 500 set. I think it is safe to assume it is worth a lot more than 2K. Only way to find its value is to put it on eBay. But then it is not yours. As we know there are some collectors with deep pockets.

I would love to watch an auction for this on eBay. I would hate for you not to have it anymore. The proverbial double edged sword

You do have a phone that no one else does. Does the JKL have one?...Doug

[Dan/Panther]

I appreciate the responses about the 500 I have. I do want to clarify, that I have no intentions of selling the phone, but was just a little confused as to valuations of rare phones. The fact that it is physically the same as those that followed, I fully understand. But also keep in mind, the 500, in 1949 was a very different phone also, nothing had come close to it's design at the time.  So the way I see it,  both phones were very different than those that preceded them. However, the 48 TT, was also recognizable as a 302 design.  The 500 was completely new.

D/P