Sure is a beauty. A tad out of my league....Doug
http://tinyurl.com/65kvylj
Nice, but with a reserve and $1k starting bid I won't be surprised if nobody bids on it the first go around.
I keep hoping that someone will find one of these in the basement as this seller did but instead of listing it on ebaY with a $1000 starting price they will phone me and ask if I want to have it for my phone collection.
Now back to another rum and coke....
Terry
Got a R & C going spare, Terry?
OK , it's time to breakout all those dusty Franklins 8) Who's gonna get!!!! ;D not me!! :'(
Still a very nice phone!!!! stub
Hmm, for that price, you could get two 11-digit Strowger wall sets, if you got lucky like DavePEI twice in a row :-)
But how does it compare to the cost of Ray Kottke casting one of those in red?
Question: What's that semicircular thingie hanging down toward the front right, from the chrome plate over the hookswitch? My first guess is it's some kind of party line "monitor" latch that enables the hookswitch to operate part-way and the has to be pressed or flipped to enable the hookswitch to operate the rest of the way. It's definitely not a handset grabber as you'd see on a ship's phone. Anyone ever see that before?
The interior of that phone really appears pristine. I have to wonder if it's NOS or if there's any chance it's actually a Ray Kottke creation?
I can't imagine Ray using a red curly cord that doesn't match, he would have the correct cloth cord. Plus one of the rings is loose from shrinkage of the tenite. I think this is real. I did notice the attachment by the plunger. I have no idea what it is used for......Doug
GG & Doug Rose:
Yes that is a party line latch or what ever it would be called. Go off hook and listen for an in progress conversation. If all is clear push the little tab on the right side of the cradle area to fully release the hook switch. Not seen very often on AE 40's or 50's.
It is a very clean and shiny red 50. I briefly wondered about it being a reproduction but both the handset cord and the wrong dial/fingerwheel make me think it is not one of Ray's. The fingerwheel on it is the first clear plastic model as used on the early colored 80's. There was an overlap in manufacture of the 40/50 phones at the same time as the 80/90 phones but I don't think they would have put that fingerwheel on a colored 40/50. It should have had the chrome FW to match the other chrome trim on the phone.
Tom B:
Yes. The Ice is starting to melt though....
Terry
The seller appears to have removed the $1k starting bid.
Yes I noticed the start price had dropped to 9.99 last night. The reserve probably didn't change though!
Terry
It might make a good contest phone, I've never seen a red one before. I've attached eBay pics of a Blue and Green one from awhile back. Has anyone else seen a red one before?
Doug Pav
I can't recall seeing a red 50 either. Lots of red 40's but not a 50.
Terry
$355 and it ends on Sunday, this just might go for the 1K reserve. With the correct cords, this is really a beautiful phone. My guess is it goes over $1000 and will sell, of course the reserve could have been lowered when the auction changed. I'd love to have it, Janet wouldn't agree and my youngest is in grad school getting her Masters....Doug
If the economy was normal I would say $2000 to $2500. But with the current economic conditions I say $1775.
Terry
$1324.99 Final Price.
The reserve was $1000.00
24 Bids from 11 different bidders.
Terry
I haven't seen a red one before. I have seen an ivory, walnut, blue and brownish beige one.
This red one was a bit to expensive to my liking.
Hi Remco:
When it comes to colored phones, this is the one place that in most cases the AE's blow away the competition for high prices. Not that this was that high. The red 40's used to usually land around $1500 if in good shape. I didn't think that I had ever seen a red 50 before but looking through my notes I do have a record of seeing a red 50 on ebaY several years ago. Unfortunately I wasn't keeping track of the selling price at that time.
Terry