Orange Contempra

HarrySmith · September 07, 2019, 10:44:00 AM

Hi Guys. I am about to take possession of what appears to be a very nice Orange Contempra. I am not a collector of these but it looks good and I do not recall seeing this color before. Is this a rare color? Any idea as to value of such a phone? I do not have any pictures yet but I should have by tomorrow. I will add tham as soon as I can. I am told it is a working phone but I have not verified that yet. More to follow.

Ktownphoneco · September 07, 2019, 11:20:37 AM

If he doesn't see your post Harry, PM Doug "Duffy". He's a Contempra Collector. I'm pretty sure he's got an orange Contempra in his collection, and he can most likely tell you how rare that color is to find. Attached is a 1969 catalog color chart for the Contempra sets, but there were some additions to that list in the years that followed. (Click to enlarge).

Jeff Lamb

HarrySmith · September 07, 2019, 01:10:39 PM

Thanks Jeff. It looks like it might be that "Bright Red" color. Interesting. I will have to check it out tomorrow. More to come...

paul-f · September 07, 2019, 01:42:32 PM

Orange did make it onto the color list.
http://www.paul-f.com/Contempra.html#Colors

..... · September 07, 2019, 02:13:41 PM

Quote from: Ktownphoneco on September 07, 2019, 11:20:37 AM
If he doesn't see your post Harry, PM Doug "Duffy". He's a Contempra Collector. I'm pretty sure he's got an orange Contempra in his collection, and he can most likely tell you how rare that color is to find. Attached is a 1969 catalog color chart for the Contempra sets, but there were some additions to that list in the years that followed. (Click to enlarge).

Jeff Lamb

Thanks Jeff

Yes I do have some Contempras. Including the orange one with the upside down logo.

HarrySmith · September 07, 2019, 03:00:00 PM

I forgot about that "error" one in Orange. I am pretty sure it is orange after seeing those pics. That is quite a collection Duffy! Is there certain colors that are harder to find?

..... · September 07, 2019, 03:39:13 PM

Quote from: HarrySmith on September 07, 2019, 03:00:00 PM
I forgot about that "error" one in Orange. I am pretty sure it is orange after seeing those pics. That is quite a collection Duffy! Is there certain colors that are harder to find?

Harry

The colours I see most often are the beige, ivory, white and brown they are the more common ones. Then comes the green, red, pale yellow and blue. The ones that harder to find are the orange, mauve, turquoise and burgundy. But that is just from my experience when looking for them.

..... · September 08, 2019, 08:05:17 AM

Harry

I missed two. I very rarely see black Contempra's and I have only seen pictures of a clear clear one.

HarrySmith · September 08, 2019, 10:35:33 PM

OK, picture time. It is definitely Orange. It is in pretty good shape, just a few scrapes & small scratches that should polish out easily. I hooked up my test cord and it has dial tone.

Jim Stettler · September 08, 2019, 10:38:37 PM

Sounds like a find of the month phone.
JMO,
Jim

..... · September 09, 2019, 06:25:06 AM

Harry

That looks good and should clean up nicely. It even has the matching line cord which is a good score.
It has a newer handset and the older base. NT on handset and NE on the base.
The sticker on the bottom looks to be from 3rd party refurbishing company.
The corners and the bottom edge of the body will crack and break very easily, so handle with care.
Now the handset on the other hand is rock solid. I think that maybe why they used them for buttsets.

Here is a BSP for the Contempra. I also added a brochure.

News:

Orange Contempra