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Find of the Month - October 2018

Started by Jim Stettler, September 26, 2018, 10:54:07 PM

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Find of the Month - October 2018   *** Vote for Three ***

Jim S.'s Clear 1980 WE sq. Button for $202.95 delivered ebay
5 (14.3%)
LarryInMichigan 's Brown/Walnut Northern Electric Uniphone  for $68.19 delivered ebay
11 (31.4%)
DSK's SIEMENS & HALSKE ZBSA 11 traded for field exchange
9 (25.7%)
Russ Kirk's Western Electric 50A Conference set purchased for $40 USD idelivered   ebay
5 (14.3%)
Duffy's Avaya J139 clear prototype w/ documentation $100.00 delivered (+$50 donation)auction
7 (20%)
Fabiue's Bronze  New Jersey Bell Telephone Company sign $51 + $52 shipping ebay
9 (25.7%)
skyrider's Blue 302 $535.00 Delivered from Ebay
8 (22.9%)
Gary Millam's 1956 WE mahogany brown 500 desk set $55.00 +$22.00 shipping on Etsy
18 (51.4%)
Teleplay's Conair Clear SW205 Trimline $10.00 +$13.14 shipping from eaby
4 (11.4%)
Doug Rose's Navy Beige AE 50  &98.00 + $11.00 shipping    ebay
11 (31.4%)

Total Members Voted: 35

Jim Stettler

Post your "Find of the Month" here.

A "Find of the Month" is a telephone or a related item that you acquired during the month that you are particularly excited about either because of its rarity, the difficulty you had in trying to find it for your collection or the exceptional "deal" that you got on it.

The "Find of the Month" contest is focused on the collection of telephones rather than on their sale for a profit. To be eligible for the "Find of the Month" contest:

- The finder must have personally acquired and actually own the item.
- The item can be acquired for free but it can not be a gift or present from anyone.
- The item (or any of its components) cannot be put up for sale during the contest period.
- Only one "Find" per owner can be in a "Find of the Month" contest.


A Nomination Should Include:

1) where and/or how the item was found.
2) the price & shipping cost.
3) the forum link to the topic discussing the find.
4) the eBay link if won there.
5) and other information of importance about the find.
6) one or two pictures of the item.
7) If the item is very cool to you for personal reasons, please share. This would be  your collection, birthday phone, phones from youth, basically, Why is that phone extra cool to you.


Ideally your item would be posted in its own thread elsewhere on the forum such as "Auction Talk", "Flea Market/Yard Sale Finds" or "Collectors Corner" Board. Then you or anyone else can nominate your "Find" to the Current "Find of the Month" thread by posting at least one picture and other details including the price paid, any shipping costs and a link to the original discussion on the forum. It is not a requirement that your find be posted elsewhere on the forum but the more details the better.

Nominations of phones listed in other forum discussion topics, by members that do not own the item but realize it is indeed a "find" worthy of being nominated as a "Find of the Month" candidate, are always welcome.

Please pick your best "Find" to submit for the month limiting your entry to one phone or one "Find" that might include limited multiple items. If you have already entered for the month and come up with something even better either submit your new find indicating that it replaces your previous entry OR you can enter your new Find in next months contest.

To check out a list of all past winners including the Find of the YEAR winners, click here:
          --> Winner's List <--

TelePlay has grabbed pictures of all of the "Find of the Month" winners since we started this back in 2010 and he has put them into albums on forum. Thanks John.  To check them out, click here:
          --> Photo Album <--

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

Jim Stettler

#1
So far this month I am aware of a couple of great finds. A green AE 35, A blue 302 and a brown uniphone. I am still waiting for their owners to nominate them. Note that I added Line #7 to the nomination information list. A 40 year quest is well worth mentioning as well as wish list items or just an addition to one of your favorite sub-collections.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While I wait I will nominate my own hard to find color set .
It is a clear square button trimline from 1980 and was the subject of  auction contest 346

Auction 346: WE 1980 AD3 Clear Trimline - Ended 10-09-18
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=21219.msg216537#msg216537

I won it for 225.50 with free shipping. I bid on it based on what it was worth to me. My auction guess ($450.00)was based on what I thought it would sell for. Sometimes you get lucky.
The seller felt bad about the wrong title so he gave me the option of cancelling or accepting it and getting a 10% rebate if I decided to keep it (as an apology). I liked the phone so I took the rebate. and I am in it for  $202.95 delivered.
I have other examples of this phone,  however it is one of my nicest examples  and was located less than 100 miles away.  This is an upgrade piece for me, I will eventually sell or trade  a not-as-nice example.
Jim S.
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

LarryInMichigan

I want to nominate my mottled brown/walnut Northern Electric Uniphone for this month's FOTM.  I paid a total of $68.19 on ebay (ebay link) and replaced the cords and dial number plate.  This phone probably passed under collectors' radar as it was disguised and advertised as being black.  Some clown had coated it with a thin layer of easily removed black paint.

Thank You

Larry

Jim Stettler

Pertinent info regarding Larry's telephone.
This is worth noting, It is a want  as opposed to a find, A want gets higher points by my reckoning.
JMO,
Jim S.,
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"One phone on my low budget wish list was a brown Northern Electric Uniphone.  I noticed this phone (eBay link) for sale on eBay last week, and it appeared to me to be a brown phone which had been painted black, so I took a $68 gamble and bought it.  I asked the seller to wait until this week to ship it as I was out traveling, and it arrived this afternoon.  It turns out that my guess was correct (at least this time).  The phone and handset are mottled brown bakelite, and the black paint is thin.  I have started stripping it.  The phone will need new cords and preferably a replacement dial plate.  The insides are rather dirty, and some species of small invertebrate did plenty of reproducing inside the dial and handset.  I am attaching a couple of listing pictures.  I will hopefully have some pictures of the restored brown soon."

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

dsk

#4
I would like to nominate my SIEMENS & HALSKE ZBSA 11   designed in 1911



I traded it for field-exchange.

It almost came to me, a fellow collector asked me if I wanted one, and what I could trade with.

The shipping cost was 0 because we met at a flea-marked some days later. When I discovered it was missing the right spit cup and the bottom plate, I just could visit him when I was passing where he lives on my way to our cabin.

Now It is in my living room connected to my electro-mechanical exchange, and yes it works OK.

This was one of the very first rotary telephones used in Norway.  The Skien exchange became (due to happenings other places) the very first city with an automatic exchange in Norway (actually in Scandinavia), ordered from Siemens & Halske in 1916, but started up the night to April 2. 1920 with 1800 of these telephones. Some of these was in service until the 1980-ies.

More about it here:

     http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=21211.msg216684#msg216684


dsk

Russ Kirk

#5
I would like to nominate my latest eBay find.

A Western Electric 50A Conference set purchased for $40 USD including shipping. Considering it weighs 17 pounds, I figure the shipping was around $25-30 USD. So I got the set cheap cheap cheap!

It is in "Like New" condition and includes the instruction booklet.

I saw a posting in Facebook about this set,  the poster said they already had two and this was a great buy.  I looked at the listing and it was listed about a minute before with "but-it-now" of $40 including shipping.

This set and case shows very little wear. I tested the set and everything works perfectly.

It is 100% complete with; 50A conference set, carrying case, green and gold microphones, instruction booklet, all cords, 2 lavalieres (lanyards for the neck), microphone holders and black 4 prong to modular adapter.  The handset and both microphones even still have the original plastic bags/covers.

The original eBay posting had very poor photos and a poor description: "clean looks like it has been in case all this time, with original booklet". I was thinking for $40 it was a small amount to take gamble, in my opinion it certainly is a great buy. 

Left combo photo is from eBay,  I took better photos for this nomination.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Western-Electric-50A-Phone-Conference-Set-w-Microphones-Cords-Case/123424908842

I find it very interesting the keys and the booklet call the microphones "MIKES" instead of "MIC", oh well different times.
- Russ Kirk
ATCA & TCI

.....

I will enter my Avaya J139 clear prototype that was offered to me for a $100.00 donation. I gave a $150.00 as it was a worthy cause.
Gord Webster the product owner signed the phone and Stephane Lefebvre the Senior Manager of the team wrote a letter stating that this phone was the prototype used in the Ottawa Avaya R&D lab during the development process of the J139 series software.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=21272.0

Just wondering if this is the first time for the FOTM to have two clears run in the same month?

Fabius

#7
I nominate my New Jersey Bell Telephone Company sign which is bronze. It seems to be a copper finish. $51 on eBay with $52 for shipping. The sign sold a lot cheaper then it should have. Maybe bidders where afraid it was not an original. 21 x 16.5 inches. Very heavy.
Tom Vaughn
La Porte, Indiana
ATCA Past President
ATCA #765
C*NET 1+ 821-9905

kleenax

Quote from: Fabius on October 23, 2018, 08:50:15 PM
I nominate my New Jersey Bell Telephone Company bronze sign. $51 on eBay with $52 for shipping. The sign sold a lot cheaper then it should have. It has a gold wash or finish over the bronze. Maybe bidders where afraid it was not an original. 21 x 16.5 inches. Very heavy.
Hey Tom;  GREAT SCORE!
Ray Kotke
Recumbent Casting, LLC

skyrider

I would like to enter my Western Electric blue 302 telephone in the find of the month contest. eBay auction of $535.00 free shipping. Mostly dates of late 1949.

Bill Compton

Fabius

Tom Vaughn
La Porte, Indiana
ATCA Past President
ATCA #765
C*NET 1+ 821-9905

Gary Millam

I would like to nominate this 1956 WE mahogany brown 500 desk set
that I found on ETSY last week. All dates match throughout the
phone to 8/56. The cost was $55.00 plus $22.00 for shipping.
Here are a few photos of the phone. It is hard to photograph the deep brown color
on this phone. In the pics, it looks almost black.

Gary Millam

Jim Stettler

There are currently 8 find of the month contenders.  If we get 2 more contenders  before Thursday we can go with "vote for 3".
JMO,
Jim S.
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

TelePlay

#13
To add a third tier competitor to this months selection, I'll nominate the Conair Clear SW205 Trimline that I snagged off of eBay for $10 plus $13.14 in shipping.

Can't afford a "real" clear telephone so this to me is a cost effective substitute giving me a conversation piece my the living room. Once the plastic is polished to a fine shine, it is bound to draw attention. Waiting to see the neon tube in the handset on top of the receiver light during ringing.

.....

Oh wow, Three clears in one contest!  :o