Estes Vintage Radio Auction
Seville, Ohio -- May 24, 2003

Reported by Ray Chase

Web Edition

Estes Radio Auctions held a vintage radio auction at its antique auction barn in Seville, Ohio, on May 24, 2003. As usual, the auction was preceded by an outside sale of low value items. Although Friday, the day before the auction, was rainy (seems to be the norm), the outside goods were under tarp and suffered little water damage. The Saturday morning outside auction started at 8:00 a.m., so one had to be there early to do any inspection. Fortunately, the weather broke, and Saturday was a good day all around.

World War II military goods were plentiful. I saw three BC-375 tuning units, a BC-375 dynamotor, and a new-in-box SCR-522 T/R unit. There were also many boxes of military spare parts, as well as the usual parts box lots, many low priced radios, tube lots, and test equipment. I did not attempt to record the sales at the outside auction.

If you had a good hauling capacity, this was the time to pick up some bargains, as many radios and lots were selling in the $1 to $5 range. This part of the auction continued until 10:15 a.m., and quite a few items were left unsold even with a minimum starting bid of $1.

Inside, the goods were varied but heavy on Zenith, especially tube and transistor Trans-Oceanics. The tube lots were extensive, and there was a host of German radios from the 1950s. Most of the Trans-Oceanics and German radios were reported to be in good working condition. The auction of about 650 lots lasted until after 5:00 p.m., and an excess of $33,000 was realized.

At this site, there is no buyer's premium so the listed prices are the prices paid. As usual, I missed a few lots or deleted a few items that were not of general interest, (translation, I could not read my own notes a few weeks later). All prices have been rounded down to the dollar, and some lower-priced and poor condition items deleted. Please see the print version of A.R.C. for a complete listing of the items auctioned.

This photo shows some of the better items offered for sale in the auction. The Magnavox horn (left), sold for $75, the Freed Eisemann FE-15 (below) for $70, the Atwater Kent Model 10 (4600) breadboard for $900, the Victor disc phonograph for $65, and the Gamewell tape register for $65.

A warning: Auction prices are not current values. Our selection of auction items is not necessarily complete. A listing such as this cannot adequately include the condition of cabinets, chassis, transformers, tubes, the operating status of the set, and the inclusion of incorrect, restored or replica components, etc. Auction prices are the result of the excitement of the auction process, the skill of the auctioneer and the specific interests of the participants. Nevertheless, auction prices serve as useful references and as another element in the value determining process. The possibility of error always exists, and if we are notified, corrections will be reported

This view shows the large variety of tombstones, cathedrals, and German table radios that were displayed during the viewing time.

This very Deco Freshman table radio of the early 1930s got a high bid of $145.

(Ray Chase, 1350 Marlborough Ave., Plainfield, NJ 07060, Estes Auction, 7404 Ryan Rd., Medina, OH 44256; (330) 469-4992; estesauctions@aol.com)