Decoding metal 302 housings

[Greg G.]

Refurbished phones often have smears of black paint on the underside, covering up original markings. Do you see anything like this on your base?

No I do not see any paint smears on the underside of the base.

Now ain't that just the purtiest underside I've ever seen (on a phone)!  Sure is nice to see vintage phones that weathered the years so well!

[HarrySmith]

For sure
I don't think I have ever seen an early 302 base look that good! Looks brandy new

[rdelius]

Nice set but not a 302 set.This might be a 304 set but I do not remember all the veriations

[Scotophor]

Could be, that ringer mounting area sure looks odd.

[davidbholcomb]

Could be, that ringer mounting area sure looks odd.

Nice set but not a 302 set.This might be a 304 set but I do not remember all the veriations

Thanks for tips, I never realized that I had a 304 and not a 302. I have studied the base looking to see if it had been repainted (which is what I picked up on by some of the comments) but it looks original to me. The rivets all look like they were placed there after painting. Also can someone direct me to a picture showing the proper ringer mounting area? For a long time I used this phone on my desk for everyday use but I hung it up because of having to use push buttons almost every call I made. (for service in English press 1 ect...)

[Sargeguy]

I just added my C42 from 1938 to the list.  I have an H-1 from 1-40 that has no stamp inside.

[Mr. Bones]

I just added my C42 from 1938 to the list.  I have an H-1 from 1-40 that has no stamp inside.

Is your 1-40 a 'Bell System' phone, Greg? Or, like my unstamped one, a 'WE' with F1W, for independent telcos? Just looking for any potential patterns in the tea leaves, here!

Best regards!

[Sargeguy]

It has a Bell System Handset, which is undated, and a 4H dial.  I cannot vouch for the handset being original to the phone.

[poplar1]

Did you look for a date code embossed at the top of the handle? For example, "10" for 1/40 or "129" for 12/39.

It has a Bell System Handset, which is undated, and a 4H dial.  I cannot vouch for the handset being original to the phone.

[BDM]

My 4/38 base has a stamp code of D41 in the housing. The housing has the "H1" stamp on the outside above the mouse hole. My H4/305 base 2/39, has an inside stamp of A172. I have others I can check later if you'd like?

[poplar1]

It looks like the final digit is only ever 1, 2 or 3. I wonder what that could signify.

Ignoring the final digit, the other 1 or 2 digits only seem to go as high as 27.

Since A.J.'s post, these have been added, presumably for housings made on the 28th and 30th days of the month.

J302...............10/39
K301.............12-38*
L283..............12-38
A281...............2/41*
H281..............9/39*

[Scotophor]

Since the last digit is either a 1, 2 or 3, I suspect they could indicate the shift during which the housing was produced.

I don't think that WE was stamping out housings around the clock, the number probably indicates the mold, or the plant, or something like that.  This is true for plastic housings as well, which also have a number 1-3.

I don't mean to argue, but the more I think about this, the more I lean toward disagreeing with you, Sargeguy. Since it's now fairly certain that the other characters indicate the month and day, it's only natural that the final character should also have something to do with time. I can't think of any unit of time besides a continuously-operating factory's daily shift schedule that would neatly divide into three parts. Also, it seems logical to have the progression be from larger to smaller units of time. Month-Day-Shift just works out very neatly.

[unbeldi]

Since the last digit is either a 1, 2 or 3, I suspect they could indicate the shift during which the housing was produced.

I don't think that WE was stamping out housings around the clock, the number probably indicates the mold, or the plant, or something like that.  This is true for plastic housings as well, which also have a number 1-3.

I don't mean to argue, but the more I think about this, the more I lean toward disagreeing with you, Sargeguy. Since it's now fairly certain that the other characters indicate the month and day, it's only natural that the final character should also have something to do with time. I can't think of any unit of time besides a continuously-operating factory's daily shift schedule that would neatly divide into three parts. Also, it seems logical to have the progression be from larger to smaller units of time. Month-Day-Shift just works out very neatly.

Well ... the typical progression seen on 300-series housings and others is usually month, day, year, "shift".  The year in there certainly destroys your notion of logical sequences. There is nothing logical or even elegant about American writing of dates anyhow.

Not that I disagree with the notion of the last part being a shift, it just remains an unsolved mystery.

[TelePlay]

One more for this list.

Picked up a metal 302 with a 5H dial from an antique mall for $35. The handset, line cord and ringer have been replaced over time but the base, ringer and coil make it a 9/41 302. It's an H-1 mount with 3 horizontal lines in vermillion after the "H-1."

Base dated 9-41
Coil dated III-41
5H dial dated III-41

The metal shell in stamped next to the H-1 with "I 11 3," code for 9/11/41 or 9/1/41, 3rd shift, depending on the resolution of the year-no year discussion.

[poplar1]

When you say

        Well ... the typical progression seen on 300-series housings and others is usually  month, day, year, "shift"

I assume you are talking about plastic housings only, and not metal housings, correct?

Since the last digit is either a 1, 2 or 3, I suspect they could indicate the shift during which the housing was produced.

I don't think that WE was stamping out housings around the clock, the number probably indicates the mold, or the plant, or something like that.  This is true for plastic housings as well, which also have a number 1-3.

I don't mean to argue, but the more I think about this, the more I lean toward disagreeing with you, Sargeguy. Since it's now fairly certain that the other characters indicate the month and day, it's only natural that the final character should also have something to do with time. I can't think of any unit of time besides a continuously-operating factory's daily shift schedule that would neatly divide into three parts. Also, it seems logical to have the progression be from larger to smaller units of time. Month-Day-Shift just works out very neatly.

Well ... the typical progression seen on 300-series housings and others is usually month, day, year, "shift".  The year in there certainly destroys your notion of logical sequences. There is nothing logical or even elegant about American writing of dates anyhow.

Not that I disagree with the notion of the last part being a shift, it just remains an unsolved mystery.