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$3,200 Clear 500 Auction

Started by jsowers, March 07, 2018, 03:19:32 PM

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jsowers

Quote from: Jim S. on March 08, 2018, 05:34:01 PM
The clear 500's  marked F53115 are phone store display phones. These were the first of the production run of clear 500's for phone stores. They are soft plastic . The dial center is a Bell emblem and mine   has a red letter "G" stamped on it. I have seen other 1958 clear 500's with the same dial center and a red stamp.

These were used in a display for color 500 sets. The fingerwheel on mine has an earlier style number plate. 

I would love to see some pictures proving these clear phones were used in displays to sell customers on color phones. Do you have any proof?
Jonathan

Payphone installer

That makes a lot of sense as the trimline and the princess I posted also smell to me and feel like soft plastic. Even the color on all 3 match. My sister worked in a phone center for years I will ask if she remembers that.

Jim Stettler

Quote from: jsowers on March 08, 2018, 08:39:36 PM
I would love to see some pictures proving these clear phones were used in displays to sell customers on color phones. Do you have any proof?
I do not have proof. I have heard the story from several collectors, I felt it was most likely true.
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I bought my clear 1958 WE 500 thru Steve Hilsz. The seller said that was the reason the sets were made. When the display changed, he kept the set.
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I was told there is a mid/late 1950's  color magazine ad that shows a phone store display of color 500's along with a clear 500. I don't recall who told me this, but there is a very good chance it was Mark Scola. He used to provide me with lots of early clear/color 500 info.
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This was the early days of eBay (before categories). I searched a lot of early ads for color 500's and clear telephones. I never found that ad, but I did buy a lot of color and clear ads.
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I had heard that the" clear" colored 302's were used in phone store displays to promote the color sets. I have seen a bell system B/W photo of a color 302 display that had a clear color set. this was a go-with that was displayed next to a clear 302 at a show.
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In the 1970's I had seen clear 500's, 2500's, princess phones and trimlines at the retail phone center stores.
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Based on all this, I feel it is safe to "believe" that the 1958 clear 500 was made for phone store displays with color sets.
However I do not have "Proof".

Jim S.
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.