Find of the Month - November 2018

[Jim Stettler]

Post your "Find of the Month" here.

A "Find of the Month" is a telephone or a related item that you acquired during the month that you are particularly excited about either because of its rarity, the difficulty you had in trying to find it for your collection or the exceptional "deal" that you got on it.

The "Find of the Month" contest is focused on the collection of telephones rather than on their sale for a profit. To be eligible for the "Find of the Month" contest:

- The finder must have personally acquired and actually own the item.
- The item can be acquired for free but it can not be a gift or present from anyone.
- The item (or any of its components) cannot be put up for sale during the contest period.
- Only one "Find" per owner can be in a "Find of the Month" contest.


A Nomination Should Include:

1) where and/or how the item was found.
2) the price & shipping cost.
3) the forum link to the topic discussing the find.
4) the eBay link if won there.
5) and other information of importance about the find.
6) one or two pictures of the item.
7) If the item is very cool to you for personal reasons, please share. This would be  your collection, birthday phone, phones from youth, basically, Why is that phone extra cool to you.


Ideally your item would be posted in its own thread elsewhere on the forum such as "Auction Talk", "Flea Market/Yard Sale Finds" or "Collectors Corner" Board. Then you or anyone else can nominate your "Find" to the Current "Find of the Month" thread by posting at least one picture and other details including the price paid, any shipping costs and a link to the original discussion on the forum. It is not a requirement that your find be posted elsewhere on the forum but the more details the better.

Nominations of phones listed in other forum discussion topics, by members that do not own the item but realize it is indeed a "find" worthy of being nominated as a "Find of the Month" candidate, are always welcome.

Please pick your best "Find" to submit for the month limiting your entry to one phone or one "Find" that might include limited multiple items. If you have already entered for the month and come up with something even better either submit your new find indicating that it replaces your previous entry OR you can enter your new Find in next months contest.

To check out a list of all past winners including the Find of the YEAR winners, click here:
          --> Winner's List <--

TelePlay has grabbed pictures of all of the "Find of the Month" winners since we started this back in 2010 and he has put them into albums on forum. Thanks John.  To check them out, click here:
          --> Photo Album <--

Jim S.

[Stormcrash]

I guess I'll get the thread for this month going with the GTE FashionPlate in Espresso Brown that I found New in Box on eBay and just arrived today

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GTE-Fashion-Plate-Pushbutton-Telephone-Expresso-Brown-13-Color-Facemats-/253882530867

?nma=true&si=iuUktrITwYxD1wxuAKb1AK2u6PE%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

According to the seller it had been sitting in an electronics dealer's warehouse all this time.  I probably overpaid for it at $49.95 plus $16.95 shipping, but I'd been curious about GTE/AE phones for a while, lost an auction a while back for a White 80TC with Red face plate, so when I happened to search Fashion plate on a whim and this came up I couldn't help myself.

Discussion of this phone can be found at this topic link:

     http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=21382.0

[Fabius]

I nominate the Ohio Bell award bronze plaques mounted in a walnut case awarded to Edward F Jennings for his service on the Ohio Bell board of Directors 1986-1990, that I found on eBay for $14.81 plus $8.60

I'm in the early stages of research on Edward Jennings. I have discovered he was the president of Ohio State University 1981 thru 1990 and then on an interim president in 2002.

Note that the president of Ohio Bell at the time was E F Bell. I wonder if he was related to A G Bell?

[TelePlay]

I would like to nominate skyrider's clear WE 500 with 1973 to 1975 dates that he found hiding in a cabinet above the washing machine at an estate sale for $5.36 CDN ($4.07 US)

Except for some easily removable white paint specs and the notched line cord hole, it seems to be in very good like new condition.

A discussion of the phone is posted at this link:

     http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=21395.0

[tubaman]

Please may I nominate my Federal Telephone and Radio Corporation deskset, found on eBay for £11.99 plus £6.69 postage.
eBay link https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-USA-Black-Bakelite-Telephone-Classic-FEDERAL-RADIO-CORPORATION/143001296772
It's probably not so rare in the USA, but I doubt another will turn-up in the UK any time soon.

Forum link http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=21367.0

[FABphones]

I will join in please with this French walnut burr/burled brown Bakelite Secretarial Phone.
Cost $28.

No damage to Bakelite, no parts missing, all original. Levers still operate.

Link: http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=21372.0

[Butch Harlow]

This has to be my find of the year, but its early yet, haha!

I was in Blacksburg Va this weekend taking my daughter back to school after Thanksgiving and also seeing the VT/UVA commonwealth bowl, which Tech squeaked out in OT. Great game. On Saturday, we went to a few antique shops in Christiansburg. In the second stop, my daughter found this box and handed it to me. She really has a great eye for phone stuff. Inside was a NOS red 500 with a black metal dial and gray straight cords, the instructions and the unpainted dial center set. The phone has never been used. What makes it so special to me is that it was a "find in the wild" not an Ebay or other auction site win. It was priced at 50.00, which I did not debate in the least. You can read whole story here:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=21433.0

[ramegoom]

My latest find and nominee for the month: AT&T pay phone, 1991. Best deal ever, I got this phone FREE. Just had to travel from CO to IL to pick it up. My brother bought it for his coffee shop in Chicago, but never got around to installing it, so it sat in storage, brand-new, complete with mounting accessories and coin box, never used. He had the keys for the coin vault, but couldn't find the keys for the upper half, so I had to pick the lock - replacing it with an Ebay NOS lock.

It's a private-use phone where the interaction to an operator is internal. So I wired it up to the supplied transformer, and got a dial tone - and a voice that prompted me to insert a dollar for a five minute call. If I tried to dial more than 7 digits, the voice told me the call can't be completed. Weird, but a novelty nevertheless. I'll attempt to wire it in to my WE switchboard and it just might ring since there's a speaker inside.  Topic here:  http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=21446.0

[Jim Stettler]

The deadline for November finds is fast approaching. Please nominate some more finds.
Jim S.

[Fabius]

If I tried to dial more than 7 digits, the voice told me the call can't be completed.

Payphone made before mandatory 10 digit dialing. I have two payphones, both made early 1990 and they only accept 7 digits.

[Jim Stettler]

Time to vote for November's contender's. There were some good finds this month.
Jim S.

[oldguy]

I could only vote for one.

[AE_Collector]

Thanks oldguy, I fixed it in the poll set up. Jim is just completing his probationary time and doing an excellent job! Anyone who has voted (6 of you) who want to get in your second vote, you need to remove your vote and then vote again for two.

Terry

[Jim Stettler]

Sorry about that 
Jim S.

[.....]

Thanks oldguy, I fixed it in the poll set up. Jim is just completing his probationary time and doing an excellent job! Anyone who has voted (6 of you) who want to get in your second vote, you need to remove your vote and then vote again for two.

Terry

How can that be done, I see no where to remove votes?