WE "gold" 500 set

[rdelius]

Found this at the Raleigh flea market for $40.00. Refurbished R970A.The dial is a #7
Bell System Property on plastics.
Robby

[bingster]

Wow, that's impressive.  I've seen gold shell with white dial & handset, but I think that's the first one (in my admittedly limited experience) that I've seen all gold.  That's quite pretty.

[jsowers]

These were likely retirement gifts to Southern Bell employees, or possibly publicity phones (as in the millionth phone installed or some such). I think the dial face is clear with gold flashing on the back.

The gold flashing seems to be in really good shape on yours. These are usually bad on the handset, where the gold comes off with use, like paint. My aunt found a gold keyset similar to this in the Salisbury, NC Goodwill. I have one I found years ago on eBay. They usually took a phone taken out of service and flashed it and replaced the dial face and cords. Sometimes they even used gold cords.

[McHeath]

A very nice find.  Quite impressive, never seen one in such good shape before.  And a steal of a price!

[GG]

For cleaning that one: a very soft rag and Windex.  Any kind of scrubbing would likely leave visible scratches, and buffing will probably remove the finish. 

Those are rare and you got a good deal.  But I'd suggest it's a display piece rather than one for daily use, since the finish will likely wear off over time.

[rdelius]

I dont plan to use it because the finish is so fragile. looked inside 1967 network,1966 ringer with older coil,1963 7c dial,1965 T1, 1960 F1.plastics are mostly 1969-70.This should go nicely with my imperial set and my gold 302
Robby
Better photo

[jsowers]

Robby, a gold Bell Logo number card would make that phone complete. If you don't have one, PM me your mailing address and I can send you one. Or if you have a color printer, I may be able to just email you the jpg. It's not metallic gold, but it's close.

[JimH]

Very nice set!  I have one just like it, all dated 1965 I got off ebay several years ago.  Mine was the bargain price of $61 I believe.  I also have a Princess and a Trimline that are all gold.   Here is the 500 and Princess:

[Dennis Markham]

Those are nice looking sets.  Thanks for the photos. 

I have a Princess (or two) with the gold base, but they have Ivory handsets.

[Adam]

I have a gold touch tone Trimline handset in my collection, but do not have a matching base.

[AE_Collector]

Here's the thread about a couple of Gold AE's from almost exactly one year ago.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=4052.0

Terry

[rp2813]

Did they ever outfit the gold phones with black mounting and handset cords?  I think I would prefer that look, particularly since the characters on the dial bezel are black.