Gray AE80

[LM Ericsson]

Gray Automatic Electric 80 starting at $2!

http://tinyurl.com/o3dd89x

[AE_Collector]

Sold for $58.84 and $21.55 shipping.

Terry

[Partyline4]

How rare are these?

[WEBellSystemChristian]

How rare are these?

Not as rare as WE Oxford Gray sets, but nonetheless, rare. They are more common than the dark blue sets that were built then.

The relation between rare Western Electric and rare Automatic Electric set colors doesn't seem very consistent. Sand Beige was the most common color (just barely other than black) in the fifties by Automatic Electric, which was almost identical to Western Electric's Rose Beige. Rose Beige is arguably the rarest common production color for the 500 set, and most collectors can't seem to get their hands on them (I'm one of those people).

I think it has something to do with the territories each company had covered. Different colors were probably more 'in style' in AE's regions than WE's.

[Partyline4]

I have a cousin that worked the AE / GTE territory here in Durham, NC "back in the day".

I have a ton of 80's, even the cheap 70's versions.

He has an ivory bakelite 40, and a few 90's.

I've got an aqua 1964 80 with metal plungers; It was my great-grandfather's.

I remember I went to this estate sale, and paid $18 for a 12 button starlite. I later found one for free at a local thrift store a few days later...It had an extra-long-cord.

My cousin said they charged a ton for a long cord back in the day, like $30 or something. 

" The long cord was a phone man's best friend."

[rdelius]

Also in Durham.Dont see much AE stuff around here any more.I have not found the earlier colors around here -dark blue ,grey etc. Red type 80 sets very hard to find here.Traded a type 50 with chrome trim for a dark green type 40

[Partyline4]

Go to Grannies Panties on Guess Rd.

They always have an 80 sitting around somewhere.

They caught me snatching'em up for a cool $5 a couple of times, and now they mark'em up to like $17.50.

There are some thrift stores in the Daniel Boone area of Hillsborough; They have a lot of AE product. Expect to pay retail.

They also sell some W.E. product as well. I bought my first 302 there!

They had a manual 202 there once, but for $95 I said NO.

OH well......



I"m amazed with the number of people on here who cruise around the Raliegh/Durham area.

I've heard they do very well at flea markets....


Someone got a 202 for something like a couple bucks.....

I've yet to head out to the fair grounds for the market.....

I need to go.





Chapel Hill was Bell System territory.

I've snagged a 500 at a chapel hill recycling center. The modular cord was bad!

[jsowers]

Chapel Hill was Bell System territory.

I've snagged a 500 at a chapel hill recycling center. The modular cord was bad!

You won't find old Bell System phones in Chapel Hill and probably not any others. They were AE territory until the 1970s or early 1980s. I know because I lived there for two years while going to UNC. Both my landladies had AE80s installed and one also had a SpaceMaker in the kitchen. Both houses were on Estes Dr. and dated to the early 1960s. While I was there, the Southern Bell installer replaced the AE phones with Trimlines and installed modular jacks. It was 1982 and before divestiture. So I doubt if anyone got to keep or buy the AEs. They went back to the phone company.
 
I also live in a former AE territory in NC and I never saw many AE phones in the thrift stores when I was looking for them. When I was working I would often stop by the Salvation Army store and I never saw one decent phone there. I don't think many people bought their phones here when they became available. I remember seeing many old AE 40s and 80s in people's houses growing up. I'll never forget seeing my first Starlite, in a fancy house on a Christmas tour. And lots of black AE40s with chrome dials and handset bands at the doctor, the dentist, the school and in friends' houses.

[Partyline4]

You'll rarely find them in "Big Name" thrift stores, maybe a knock-off trimline or something. Most people don't donate these vintage phones that we speak of, they get moved along after the person dies and the estate is sold off.

You ought to look home grown and local thrift. These are the guys that scrounge the neighborhoods for estates.


You educated me about A.E. being in Chapel Hill. So they changed over to Southern Bell, right?

So at one time there MUST have been Bell telephones in NC, right?

Not necessarily "old", but vintage, by today's terms..

There are a few people who have some "antique" AE's hidden in storage out there in Chapel Hill. I KNOW of it.

I've seen the "telephone co." sewage covers down there near UNC Memorial Hosp. I've wondered what they were for.....Do you know?

I was down in New Orleans this past summer and got to see the "Shoe Polished" Bell Systems sewage covers. AMAZING!

[Partyline4]

I've always thought some of the A.E. stuff is undervalued.

The 80's sometimes go for such ridiculously low amounts...like several dollars..Don't talk about shipping profit; that's all legitimate; those things are heavy!

They just don't SEEM to do as well as Western Electric's.

Why is that?

The quality was the same,if not better; especially with voice quality.

That 1964 80 I've got rivals today's "high def" chinese special.

[andre_janew]

Also, the "high def" Chinese special will probably expire shortly after the warranty does.  It won't have the longevity of the WE and AE telephones. 

[Partyline4]

Also, the "high def" Chinese special will probably expire shortly after the warranty does.  It won't have the longevity of the WE and AE telephones. 

Ha!

I bought one of those Chinese desktop payphones, and it died right after a few seconds of initial start up.

Seller said she didn't know if it worked or not.....hmmmmmmm

Talk about a bad day...

[jsowers]

You educated me about A.E. being in Chapel Hill. So they changed over to Southern Bell, right?

So at one time there MUST have been Bell telephones in NC, right?

I've seen the "telephone co." sewage covers down there near UNC Memorial Hosp. I've wondered what they were for.....Do you know?

Yes, Chapel Hill changed from an independent telco to Southern Bell sometime along the line and they eventually changed out the phones too. Southern Bell was in most of the major cities in NC. Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Salisbury, Winston-Salem and some others, and even in little towns like Kings Mountain where my aunt lives. All my mom's 6 brothers and sisters and her parents had Southern Bell and we didn't. I've found WE phones in Winston-Salem several times, both on eBay and in thrifts many years ago and at yard sales. The thrifts were Goodwill and Salvation Army and it dried up about ten years ago and I stopped looking there.
 
I never looked at manhole covers when I was a student at Chapel Hill, so I can't tell you anything about them. I think I spent most of my time waiting for the bus, to be honest. Parking was horrible. I was only at the hospital area one time that I recall.
 
Thanks for the suggestion to look at the home grown thrift places.

[Partyline4]

Yeah

Thanks for all of your information!

I hope you find a treasure!

I found two good AE's at an estate sale. One was the man's original phone from 74'

I payed too much for them; I found a similar one for free in the free section of a "local thrift" the next day!

A starlite, and an old AE80.

That 80 is so heavy!

Have fun!