New WE Fortress without coin drop or return

[Markgregory]

This payphone is listed on eBay today. Never saw one like this.  It appears that it was never completed at the factory.  Any comments?

Mark

[RotarDad]

I'm guessing this was built without coin functions to attract users who needed other payment options.  The instruction card says "Out of change?  Use your telephone calling card or call collect".  This phone would have been less-expensive to manufacture also, since the coin components were omitted.

[poplar1]

Link or item #?

[Key2871]

I've seen similar, in hospitals these were for local free calls. Long distance used a card you talk to the operator.
These were also prison type phones, early type

[Markgregory]

Oh, now I understand, these are for credit card users or possibly prisons. Now it makes sense. Pretty cool. Thanks for the input. Regarding a link, I just researched Western Electric payphones on eBay and this listing popped up. Mark

[poplar1]

126 results under " 'western electric' pay phone, or 582 results if you check box for title and description. Can't find it. Can you provide seller name OR item # OR price OR exact title???

[Pourme]

126 results under " 'western electric' pay phone, or 582 results if you check box for title and description. Can't find it. Can you provide seller name OR item # OR price OR exact title???

Found it...

     https://www.ebay.com/itm/223009625881

[Markgregory]

Way to go, Benny! Mark

[Key2871]

Back in 2010 when my first boy was born the hospital lobby had similar installed. But it was just the upper. I stood looking at it and a guy walking by asked what was wrong, I said I collect payphones, but I've never seen anything like that!. I think he was a telephone guy himself, and said they are using up all the new single uppers by putting a blank plate on doing away with the slot for coins.
The rest looks similar the the lower, that's just a back board that mounts to a post back of the shelf. To minimize wall damage for mounting. I said so payphones are going to be history? He said soon he said, very soon.
I thanked him and went to my car.

[mvtel]

It could have been used for any of that stuff that was mentioned.  I had one of those upper housing phones.  It was a GTE style upper mounted to a specially made back plate.  It had a Protel board in it that was programmed specially for it.

[Doug Rose]

Mike...I must have missed your previous posts....Welcome to the Forum! Mike has one of the great payphone collections and is an expert in Payphones. Welcome....Doug

[Dan F]

I have one of these. It was described to me as a "jail house" phone from the seller.