W.E. D1 Markings

[jfrutschy]

Hello everyone,

Right to it. Girlfriend got me two d1 (202's) for Christmas off Craigslist in our home town.  I already had two. One powder coated and restored the other a natural.

On the two that were given to me one was stamped   d1 USA on back upon inspection of the other it was marked....  WE Pat. # 1508484 pat pending along the base bottom edge.  It has a d1 stamp, But does not have USA  stamped on it either.   

The ones I already owned have the d1 and USA stamp also and no patent date.

So...what is the difference in these two phones.     I can provide pics  if needed, didn't feel the need as of yet!  Unless you folks request them.

Was going to clean and restore both with girlfriend...my phones peaked her interest a little.  She needs to catch our disease and become afflicted with telephones.  Maybe?

Thanks everybody..

[TelePlay]

The D1 I'm working on has this around the bottom edge:

WESTERN ELECTRIC MADE IN U S A PATENT 1508424 PAT PEND

Note the "2" vs "8" difference in the number. Interesting.

[unbeldi]

Note the "2" vs "8" difference in the number. Interesting.

The 8 must have been a typo.

These are two common marking varieties of the D1 mountings.  Either a USA mark by the mounting code, or a patent reference along the edge. I presume the units with the patent reference are an earlier version, because it is the patent for the A1 handset mounting.

[Sargeguy]

Do they all weigh the same?  Early versions were made of aluminum, but slid around too much and were replaced by the zinc alloy versions.

[jfrutschy]

No they do not weigh the same.  And I had a type o...it is 1508484

[Sargeguy]

Cool, the early aluminum ones are harder to find and carry a slight premium over the zinc alloy ones.

[poplar1]

I like the heavier ones better, usually 1936-1937. However, the original paint seems to look better on the light ones 1930-1935.