Who won this beauty?

[baldopeacock]

If you won this or had another never-installed preserved NOS phone like this, would you install it or just keep it wrapped up to protect it?

That would be a tough decision for me.    It's only never-installed once.  On the other hand it would be difficult to have one this nice and never see it without taking it out of the box and unwrapping it.

[jsowers]

I was fourth runner up, so I guess that's like dancing with your Aunt Mabel. And unlike Aunt Mabel, it sure was beautiful and I figured it would go fairly high, since NOS in the box usually does. But I would rather have had a fixer-upper, like Aunt Mabel, bless her heart. I agree with Dennis in that we will likely never see another one. To answer the question about whether or not to display it, it would no longer be mint and NOS if you took it out of the box and hung it on the wall. That's why I like fixer-uppers. That's the fun part of the hobby for me--restoring the phones.

About other 554s having straight cords, I think Jim posted a BSP a while back that said only ivory and black had straight cords in the beginning and the color 554s all had coiled cords from the beginning. Until this auction, I had never seen an ivory 554 with a straight cord, not even in company advertising. It was a rarity on every scale.

Long about mid-1956, coil cords became standard on all color phones. So I'm thinking this phone is from 1956. I think that was also when most of the satin finish switchhooks were made if Dennis' and my inventory is any indication.

Link to switchhook thread: http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1568.0

[Doug Rose]

I do disagree with one comment

"To answer the question about whether or not to display it, it would no longer be mint and NOS if you took it out of the box and hung it on the wall. "

If you hung the phone on the wall to display and not in use, in my mind it is still Mint and NOS. NOS is new old stock. If it was not used, it would be new. I have more than a few NOS phones displayed, aside from the monthly dusting, these get no use and look like the day the came out of the box. just me two cents.....Doug

[Netdewt]

it would no longer be mint and NOS if you took it out of the box

For the record, this is the silliest thing I have ever heard. The reason I like these old phones is that they are still useful! It's a testament to the fact that old stuff is awesome, in contrast to the contemporary idea that new is always best. Something that sits in the box is worthless. You might as well not have it. Just my opinion.

[McHeath]

I agree with the idea of using old items, and 90% of my phones have done rotation time in my phone circuit. 

But this 554 is different, it's beyond rare.  They don't make these anymore eh?  In most collecting fields there are a few items preserved in like new condition, cars, firearms, etc.  This 554 seems like a candidate for that treatment, in my opinion, and I'd probably leave it as is. 

Though I would understand the drive to hang it on the wall and use it. 

[Dan]

I'd use her for about a week, but I would do things like take a picture of the string that holds the handset cord and put it back when I was done to preserve the originality.