Classic Rotary Phones Forum

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.

I would like to nominate my Swedish "Nordic Blue" Ericofon.  It has a date inside of "10/60" and is in excellent condition.  I paid a total of $21.29 for it inclusive of shipping.  Richard Rose ranks this color as one of the rarest Ericofon colors on his excellent website.

Larry

I will nominate my working Western Electric 299f magneto that I found at a local re-sale shop for $5.

I'd like to nominate my Heemaf 1955 with reverse dial from this  (http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=22714.0)and this  (http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=10985.msg228992#msg228992)thread. According to the Ebay seller it is from the legacy of a former german employee of the US signal corps in Heidelberg, hence falsely offered as "US phone". The true provenience seems unclear. The phone is in good order but has a used and matt finish.
Philips exported these phones made by Heemaf all over the world. Obviously this one was made with the reverse dial as used in New Zealand and the city of Oslo (Norway) exclusively. The whole assembly looked very much original and untouched with all parts stamped Heemaf.
I was the only bidder at 15 € + 5.45 shipping (about 23 US $ total)

I hate to blow my own horn, but I'll post my latest acquisition anyway.

It is a Western Electric 565 L 6 button key set in mahogany brown, dated 12/58.  All dates match except for the transmitter unit.

Unusual features include a lifting Exclusion Key plunger, and the rightmost button is a turn knob with two positions (ringer cut-off?).  It also has spade tips on the end of the matching cable, rather than a 25 pair connector.

It is in very good condition overall, with no cracks, and very few scratches.  It was missing the number card and designation card, so I added placeholders.

It was a Buy-It-Now on Ebay.  It cost me $39.99, plus 14.99 shipping, plus 5.50 tax. 

Ebay Link:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Western-Electric-Multi-Line-565-L-Brown-Rotary-Dial-Telephone-6-Button-/153547000907

?hash=item23c01d4c4b%3Ag%3APyMAAOSwqLFdF8Sc&nma=true&si=jJ5dFQ3lcoclHY9LarkTsursKJQ%253D&orig_cvip=true
&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Discussed in:
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=22736.0

We could use a few more nominations for July.

If your find is part of a group, you can post 1 of them. Simple value is the total divided by the number of phones.
Jim

Quote from: Jim Stettler on July 27, 2019, 11:49:01 AM
We could use a few more nominations for July.

If your find is part of a group, you can post 1 of them. Simple value is the total divided by the number of phones.
Jim

Ok - I'll nominate my WE I-37 302 telephone from a BIN group of 3 phones on eBay for $122.00 total
- Dividing by three is about $40.67 for each, but realistically $72.00 (figuring for the 4-50 302 say $30 & the PTT Standard $20)
Discussion link:https://tinyurl.com/y2rmwbqy (https://tinyurl.com/y2rmwbqy)


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Please may I add my Ericsson dial with last digit dialled indicator - http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=22772.0
It was £9.99 plus £3 postage on eBay and is a very interesting thing (even if it is set for make pules rather than break).
:)

Hello Everyone!
I would like to nominate this newly acquired 565 from 1979.
This was an actual field find. Only $5 for a new handset cord and a bit of cleaning time.

I'd like to nominate the WE 5302 I won for $10 from the Seattle Goodwill eBay page. Since I am local I was able to pick up in person so there was no shipping cost

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Rotary-Corded-Western-Electric-Bell-System-Telephone-/401818996684

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=22801.0

I'll add something a little different to the FOTM contest.

Bell Canada French Years of Service Award Plaque.

It was given to me when I stopped in to see a friend.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=22800.0 (http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=22800.0)

Voting is open for July Find of the Month.

 July 2019's Find of the month is SUnset2's WE 565 L 6 button key set in mahogany brown, dated 12/58.  about $70.00       eBay
This set has an exclusion key and turn knob. That is some cool bonus features on a rare set.

Thank you, I'm honored.  Since I joined this forum, I've learned a lot about how to spot collectible telephones, and distinguish rare phones from common ones.
- Paul

Congratulations Paul - a nice find indeed!