Western Electric 169G

[Payphone installer]

The 169G is a post pay set. I would assume it was a conversion set,but I have no prof of that. I guess one should ask was there a pre-paid set. Well here it is.

[Payphone installer]

more pics

[Payphone installer]

One of the things that is rare is the pile up.

[Stan S]

More on the the mystery of the 169G handset phone.
I did a little more research on the 169G. The only reference I could find to a 169G was in Ron Knappen's payphone book on page 264 and 272 (says it was made in 1939).  Page 285 says it is a re-manufactured 163C.
This isn't exactly an official Bell System publication however it seems to be accurate.
Take a look at the pictures I attached of the 163C from my collection. The 163C and Jim's 169G are identical except that Jim's is a handset phone and the 163C is a two piecer. The steel 2 piece hook and receiver were replaced with a handset hook and an F handset. The bulldog transmitter was removed and the holes in the front of the phone were covered by an instruction card or a blank plate. Once again, no mystery there. What's a mystery to me is why Jim's payphone was designated a 169G and not some 170 series XXX?
Historically when any 2-piece payphone was converted to a handset model regardless of what it started life 'AS' it was designed as a 170- something. Made no difference if it was a any model 50, 150 or 160.

[Stan S]

The extra terminal near the contact assembly in Jim's phone (that's attached to the coin track) was added because an additional connection point was needed for the coin mic. The coin mic. was added because the bull dog transmitter was removed from the front. The bull dog originally picked up the sounds of the bell and gong.
Stan S.

[RotarDad]

Jim & Stan - Thanks for the pics and commentary on this one - very interesting!  Perhaps Jim's is a very early handset version before WE decided to assign the 17X model to all 2 piece upgrades.  1939 would make sense if the 181G arrived in 1940.  There must have been some discussion about model numbers and it was decided that the upgrades would get 17X and new manufacture handset models would get the higher 18X numbers.  These decisions were likely implemented after Jim's phone left the refurb. shop (or, possibly, new assembly line).   Perhaps some confirm on the date would come from handset components, cord restraint, or the dial?

[Stan S]

Paul
Apparently that was the case.
What's a mystery is there doesn't seem to be any official written Bell System evidence that a 169G ever existed. At least none that I've been able to find.
If the Bell System did anything really well it was documentation. Another payphone mystery!

Stan S.