What is your cheapest 500?

[JorgeAmely]

$1.99 + shipping to the door. And it came with a very interesting dial card and story.

[mienaichizu]

does it came from the white house?

[Sargeguy]

Free.  I had one in the basement.  I've had a couple given to me over the years.

[benhutcherson]

A couple of freebies- a green '64, a white one with a network date of '54(although it was modular and had a new dial), and a nice soft plastic 554 from the early '60s with a metal fingerwheel and G1 handset.

I have a 554, modular but a wide spectrum of dates, that was $1.

Finally, a nice soft plastic non-dial black 500 with a G1 for $2.88.

[JorgeAmely]

It didn't come from the White House. The ebay seller claims it was used by JFK in the 60s. I did some research and it is plausible that was used by him, but you never can tell. I later exchanged a few emails with the seller and he was still sticking to his story.

This is the listing description:
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Up for bid is a 1961 Western Electric 500 C/D desk phone in faded, White.   This phone has the White House emblem in the center disk and was used by President John Kennedy during his visit to the USS Kitty Hawk while in port in San Diego, months before his assassination. My father took it from the mobile office set up on the Kitty Hawk after President Kennedy departed the ship.  This example shows it age and is in rough condition from use and storage, as it was used in our house for years and then stored in my fathers garage ever since 1969.  It's mouthpiece threaded area is broken but repairable with glue?

One day, a phone company technician was servicing our home phones, when he came to this one, he told my mother that there was a monitoring device in the phone and would she mind if he removed it.  Unfortunately, my mother agreed, so that "added feature" is no longer on it.

As it's been in my family since the day my father brought it home off the ship, I would love to keep it, but I have moved and don't have room to store it anymore.  I would hope that there is someone out there that could restore it to working condition and appreciate a great phone with an interesting, and significant history.
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The seller address is from San Diego, where the boat mentioned was stationed, and JFK visited that boat while in San Diego once. It would be nice to check if someone with the seller last name was ever in that boat.

[bingster]

The White House dial cards are rather common.  I don't know the story behind them, but whenever they show up on ebay, the seller swears it was used by some president.  I can't imagine real White House phones having a generic dial card.  They probably would have had extension numbers or something on them (unless people just guessed at extension numbers until they found the right one).

My cheapest 500 (keep in mind I only have five) was a red '57 with a dodgy dial bezel.  I think As I recall, I paid $16 or $17 for it plus shipping.

[JorgeAmely]

Bingster:

That card and many other "government" cards are available here:

http://www.telephonearchive.com/numbercards/themes/military.html

However, this one is very aged. I don't know if it aged due to sun exposure or other environmental conditions. It would be interesting to trace who and when came up with that design.

But for $1.99, I am not complaining.   

[McHeath]

Anything unusual in the guts of that supposed Presidential phone?  Any evidence of some sort of "monitoring device" that was attached?  Those are pretty amazing claims, and I doubt that they could ever be proved one way or the other. 

Still, for a couple of bucks it was a deal.

[JorgeAmely]

Hi McHeath:

I did another inspection of the alleged presidential phone. All the component dates seem correct (base is June, 1961), except for the handset cord (1963) and the speaker (1970 - U3 element). The handset microphone thread is damaged and the element is held in place with a piece of tape.

If interested, I can dig out the pictures I took and display them in an album.

[JimH]

From what I've seen and read, the White House switchboard is in the Old Executive Office Building, next to the White House.  Every picture I've seen of a Presidential Phone has this dial center....even Reagan's ROTARY telephone at his ranch in California.  They didn't need extension numbers because the switchboard was aware from the secret service where the President is at anytime....and they can connect to him in whatever room at the White House, Camp David, Crawford (ugh) or wherever.

[foots]

I got a white '59, matching date (except the wall cord) 500 for free from my brother. It was my first rotary phone and the one that started all this madness. I also got a red '75 or '76 SC 500 for free.