What method to determine date of a phone ?

[Dan/Panther]

When attempting to determine the date of a phone, what is the most used method.
1-Base plate date.
2-oldest part date.
3-Majority of parts dated the same.
4- Newest part date.
5-Brag and lie about it.

D/P

[bingster]

I go for No. 3, personally.

[Sargeguy]

That depends.  I think in phones which have dates on the base plates, like a 302 or a 500, I would think that the base plate would be the most important mark.  It is the chassis on which the phone is built.   I have a 1942 dial in a 1953 phone right now but it doesn't make it a 1942 phone.  If all the other parts matched and were from an earlier date, then you might be able to make a case for an older phone with a replaced base plate, but you would still have to disclose and explain that when selling it.  If someone tried to sell you a 1950 500 which had a base plate dated 1958, but all the other parts were from 1950, how would you respond?  For older models in which the base plate is just a cover, I would give more weight to the date on the housing and the majority of the parts.

[mienaichizu]

but how about other phone makes? usually they don't have any dates stamped on it

I'll also go for number 3

[McHeath]

I'm voting for number 1 most of the time.  Similar to old cars, the frame date is the date of the car, to me, and even to the DMV here in Kawleefornya.  Others use the majority of parts method, and of course after Ma Bell got done with a lot of phones they are a mishmash of dates and parts like my "1959" 554 where the only thing from 1959 is the base plate.  My princess rotary is another frankenphone, oldest part seems to be the M1A ringer, but no two dates on anything else match.  Phones like that I call a "late 70s early 80s phone".  But then my 554 has dates from 1959 to 1983. 

[JimH]

I always go for the date the phone was LAST issued by the phone company.  If it's a 500 and has a white sticker over the date on the baseplate...ie 10-74, and you open it up and it has a 1957 baseplate and network dated the same, it probably will have a NEW dial, plastics, and Franken-capsules in the handset.  The cords would be from 1974 also...so I'd say the phone was "remanufactured" in 1974, and I would consider the phone a '74 even though it has a '57 base plate.  Also the ringer seems to usually have the same date as the network in all of the "remade" 500s and 554s I've seen. 

[Dan/Panther]

I was leaning towards the baseplate, however Jim makes a great argument for latest dated part.
Yet Mcheath hits home with the car chassis. I had a 57 Chevy, with the interior completely redone, not original, and it was powered by a 389 pontiac motor, with a 4 speed hydromatic tramsmission, yet that was still my 57 Chevy.
It's really a tough call...Unlike cars though, Phones have a runninmg body design, so I think as long as the baseplate, body, and handset, and handset cord, are the original, then I would date it by the base. After that, it's a crap shoot it seems.
D/p