OMG!! Soft plastic!!

[LM Ericsson]

I bought this nice 500 at an antique store on my summer vacation to Asheville, NC. I had gone to the same antique store back in '09 and this year I thought to my self "I wonder if that nice aqua blue phone is still at that antique store''. Sure enough the day I went to that antique store it was still there. I studied it and saw that the coiled cord was fat, no holes in the centres of the reciever and transmitter caps, and leather feet. I took the cover off of the phone and saw no year molded in the little circle, but the date of the phone stamped on the front inside the housing. I also tapped on the housing taken off and had the nice soft sound, not the "clunk clunk"of the hard plastic. The phone also had one of those fancy aluminum covers on the handset and a nice matching color four prong on the line cord. Every component in the phone are all from '58. I paid $55 on the phone but I think it was worth it. This is the first time I found a soft plastic 500 and in my favorite color at an antique store!!!

[LM Ericsson]

More pics...

[AE_Collector]

Nice find! Put it in the FInd of the Month for July so we can see what everyone else thinks!

Terry

[Greg G.]

$55 was a good buy considering the same phone would have been closer to $70+ on ebay when you include the cost of shipping, not to mention the risk of it being poorly packed.

[jsowers]

That's a great find in an antique store--and three years after you first saw it. It's amazing it was still there. Congratulations! But be warned, once you get one, you're going to want more. This one should clean up nicely.

Have you taken the fingerwheel off yet and looked for the original number card? It looks like it has a stick-on card on top and something nice may be hiding underneath. I hope so.

[LM Ericsson]

That's a great find in an antique store--and three years after you first saw it. It's amazing it was still there. Congratulations! But be warned, once you get one, you're going to want more. This one should clean up nicely.

Have you taken the fingerwheel off yet and looked for the original number card? It looks like it has a stick-on card on top and something nice may be hiding underneath. I hope so.

There are two others. One with an exchange "EXbrook'' and on the opposite side is another exchange name "AMhurst 8-9779" and the other number card has AREA CODE 305 and 268-9779.

[LM Ericsson]

Well the phone is officially done. There was sticky residue on the handset from the fancy handset cover which easily came off with goo-gone. I also polished the housing, handset, and dial bezel with novus number 2. I also took pics of the underside of the housing of where the date should be stamped which has been worn off but you can sort of see it and of the number cards that were behind the fingerwheel.

[LM Ericsson]

A few more..

[JorgeAmely]

It is a beauty, and the matching 283B plug in the same color is just icing on the cake.

Congratulations!

[HarrySmith]

Nice find! Congrats

[jsowers]

Thanks for posting the number cards. I'm glad you had something nice under that damaged stick-on card. Your phone looks gorgeous after its makeover and a lot better without that handset cover.

Here's a little detail you may not know. The AMhurst card was typed with an old IBM Electric Model A typewriter with script typebars. I know because I have one I got at a thrift store. It's a bit different than the Selectric Script type. It's not the usual Bell System issue card, but interesting anyway. You picked the right one to go on the front.

You may need to go back to other NC vacation spots and see if you can find some more soft plastic. I'm in NC too and haven't had much luck finding it in shops. So that was a lucky find.

[HarrySmith]

The area code 305 is for Miami Florida, I guess you will have to send it to me

[poplar1]

# card sticker shows changed to 904 268 which is Jacksonville, FL---