David Neal <dan@sun.rice.edu> (05/08/91)
Last weekend I saw a antique phone at an auction and was wondering if any telecom readers knew how much it was worth ... I'm still wondering if I should have bought it. It was a Kellogg phone, with a old style speaker on a cord, which hung of the base with the mouthpiece when not in use. The handset had pat pend 1906 on it. The base was connected with a wooden box with a crank handle on the side. I opened the box and the first thing I noticed was three big magnets which were stamped pat pend 1896. Was it just some sort of reproduction fake or was it the real Mc Coy? Sorry, I didn't write down the patent numbers.
berger@clio.sts.uiuc.edu (Mike Berger) (05/14/91)
dan@sun.rice.edu (David Neal) writes: > Last weekend I saw a antique phone at an auction and was wondering if > any telecom readers knew how much it was worth ... I'm still wondering > if I should have bought it. > It was a Kellogg phone, with a old style speaker on a cord, which hung > of the base with the mouthpiece when not in use. > The handset had pat pend 1906 on it. The base was connected with a > wooden box with a crank handle on the side. I opened the box and the > first thing I noticed was three big magnets which were stamped pat > pend 1896. > Was it just some sort of reproduction fake or was it the real Mc Coy? I don't doubt that it was authentic. But value varies widely with condition. I'll pay a premium if all the phenolic is intact, the magneto is in good condition, the original cords still have insulation intact, etc. Prices go down drastically as condition degrades. In excellent restorable condition, the phone might be worth $ 200. If completely intact but rough, it might be worth $ 50. Mike Berger Department of Statistics, University of Illinois AT&TNET 217-244-6067 Internet berger@atropa.stat.uiuc.edu