WECO 302 Markings

[Fabius]

This 302 on eBay has several dates. Strange it is only the years? What are they? The build date is 12/50

http://tinyurl.com/oadffqb

[unbeldi]

This 302 on eBay has several dates. Strange it is only the years? What are they? The build date is 12/50

http://tinyurl.com/oadffqb

This is a 302 from Northern Electric production. Northern products can be easily identified by the date stamps. They actually stamp a full date onto parts (see coil and ringer), with some exceptions like the month-year stamp on the base here. WECo only used month and year or quarter and year usually, but also with some exceptions, e.g., receiver elements. The multiple year stamps are patent years, something that WECo did not stamp onto parts, at least not onto 302 parts.

Of course, the dial on this phone is an AE version. This phone was made for sale to an independent telco, as the handset is F1W by the eBay description, apparently a Western Electric item. I don't know if Northern bought handset from Western, and delivered the phone without a dial, or whether the telco bought handsets from Western, and handset-less (and dial-less) sets from Northern.

[Fabius]

Thanks. I learned something new.

[poplar1]

More likely it's a Frankenphone assembled by a refurbisher.

[unbeldi]

More likely it's a Frankenphone assembled by a refurbisher.

That is an unthinkable possibility !  LOL.
But possibilities abound.

Well, at least the origin of the various parts is clear, which indeed cannot be said with certainty of the orchestrator of the piece.