News:

"The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them." - Dan/Panther

Main Menu

Insanity

Started by Doug Rose, January 11, 2016, 07:55:46 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Phonesrfun

Quote from: 19and41 on January 12, 2016, 02:02:56 PM
Mighty interesting.  I had never seen a 500 with a straight handset cord.  At prices like that, these screenshots will be my only opportunity.

I see them in movies and TV shows like "The Twilight Zone" every once in a while. Growing up in the '50's and '60's I probably saw many of them, but I certainly don't remember one specifically.  So, for now, movies is as close as I will come to seeing one.
-Bill G

19and41

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

andre_janew

I've had two 500s with straight handset cords.  The first was a 1953 manual one with a 95A dial blank that I had when I was a kid.  The second is the 1954 one with the rotary dial that I have now.

LarryInMichigan

My soft plastic ivory 500 with straight handset cord sold for $454, about half of what this green one got.  I feel cheated.


Larry

RotarDad

Thanks Unbeldi for posting that M-blue straight cord 500 - that's a beauty.  I would love to know what that would bring in today's market, probably a lot more than than the $4-500 the coil cord versions bring.  Larry your -50 is another example of the "straight-cord premium", and Ivory is not a rare or expensive color with coil cord.  Interesting stuff....
Paul

Jim Stettler

There were some early 500 sets that had color matching straight cords,  They don't show up very often. I suspect the colored straight cords would bring a highr premium than than straight grey cords.
Jim S.



ISTR that Vern P. has an early yellow 500 with matching straight cords. I think he has a few of the straight cord sets.
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

poplar1

Ivory, brown and gray always had matching cords.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

jsowers

Here's my collection of straight corded phones. Anyone want to estimate what they're worth now? They were bought in the days before $900 insanity bidding. I couldn't afford to buy them today.

The red and the yellow ones with matching handset cords are perhaps the rarest, aren't they Dennis? Dennis and I like the same phones and we bid against each other on the yellow one and something happened and he didn't get it. I know exactly how that is because it happened to me too, but on a light gray 554. We all have "the one that got away."

In 1956 they changed to color-matching handset cords on all except green and dark blue. Then in 1957 they changed to coil cords being standard. That makes the color matching straight cords fairly rare since they were only offered one year or so.
Jonathan

Jim Stettler

Quote from: jsowers on January 14, 2016, 03:44:36 PM
Here's my collection of straight corded phones. Anyone want to estimate what they're worth now?

I haven't followed early colored 500 value for years. What seems to be the going prices for the early sets w/grey or colored coil cords?
Thanks,
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

poplar1

#24
Quote from: jsowers on January 14, 2016, 03:44:36 PM
In 1956 they changed to color-matching handset cords on all except green and dark blue. Then in 1957 they changed to coil cords being standard. That makes the color matching straight cords fairly rare since they were only offered one year or so.

So would you agree then that straight handset cords (H4BG) were standard as follows?

Set Color:     Matching H4BG:
Ivory            1954-1956
Green           N/A
Gray             1954-1956
Red              1956
Brown          1954-1956
(Dark)Beige  1956
Yellow          1956
(Dark) Blue   N/A
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

Jim Stettler

You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

Dennis Markham

Very nice collection of 500's, Jonathan.  I do remember that Yellow one as the one that got away.  That was early in my eBay experience, before I knew of sniper programs.  I waited until the last second to push the "confirm" button.  My browser kind of froze up and when it cleared the auction was over.....my bid didn't register and the phone moved to North Carolina.  It's a beauty and couldn't have gone to a better home.

To move back on topic, based upon the sale price of the recent Green 500 with straight gray cord, the Yellow with matching straight cord could be worth thousands!

~Dennis

jsowers

Quote from: poplar1 on January 14, 2016, 06:29:55 PM
So would you agree then that straight handset cords (H4BG) were standard as follows?

Set Color:     Matching H4BG:
Ivory            1954-1956
Green           N/A
Gray             1954-1956
Red              1956
Brown          1954-1956
(Dark)Beige  1956
Yellow          1956
(Dark) Blue   N/A

Yes, Dave, that looks right to me. I've only seen one dark beige straight handset cord and it was super long and not on a matching phone. I think Jester got it somewhere as a mounting cord. So I guess that dark beige with straight dark beige handset cord combination exists in the wild, but I haven't seen one in the 17 or so years I've looked at phones on eBay and others would probably say the same. The cords went to color in stages too, with red being first, for whatever reason. I've noticed red matched a bit earlier than the rest of the colors, maybe at the end of 1955.

To complete the picture, red, dark beige and yellow had dark gray cords in 1954-55. And all these years are approximations since we don't know the exact month things changed. Thanks for coming up with that list.
Jonathan

trainman

Keep in mind Mid Century Modern decor is hot right now. I think what we have are phones with the right colors will sell. Pink, turquoise, aqua, green, and yellow will probably fetch more than white, beige, brown, etc.