Estes Auctions
Burbank, Ohio -- February 21, 2004

Reported by Ray Chase

Web Edition

This Estes Auction presented the collections of Joe Koester and Dr. Arlo Brakel with other additions. Highlights included many exceptional Zeniths, such as eight shutter-dial sets; a host of Scotts (about 13 in all); a nice collection of Catalins; as well as high-end novelty sets, Ham gear, and some very nice Edison cylinder machines. There was more than the usual number of better consoles, including the seldom seen Zenith Stratosphere that sold for $7,000 in spite of needing a fair amount of work. In addition, there was a very clean Philco 38-690, a 22-tube, 2-chassis set, that sold for $900.

Several of the Scott consoles were truly outstanding, and although they brought good prices, they did not command the prices set by comparable Scotts in sales several years ago. For the Zenith collector the offerings were outstanding -- eleven Zenith sets sold for over $1,000 each, totalling $33,100 or nearly 25 percent of the total sale proceeds. As always, it was a distinct pleasure to see and touch all these fine collectibles even if one was not in a position to buy them.

There was a good mix of other radio items as well, so there was something for nearly everyone. As often is the case, many additional items were coming in on the Saturday morning before the auction started. The sale consisted of over 600 lots and yielded nearly $140,000, not counting the 5 percent buyers premium which is not included in the listing below. Note that the photographs may show many sets without knobs. This is a security measure taken by the auctioneer, and most, if not all, of the better sets had the knobs available for the purchaser at the checkout counter. See print version of A.R.C. for complete auction listing.

e=excellent, vg=very good, g=good, f=fair, p=poor, unk=unknown condition, gf=good filament, N.O.S.=new old stock, N.I.B.=new in box, wk=working, nwk=not working, WT=with tubes, NT=no tubes, BB=brass-based, TT=tipped tube, SW=shortwave, PS=power supply, PB=push buttons. All prices have been rounded down to the dollar.

(Ray Chase, 1350 Marlborough Ave., Plainfield, NJ 07060; Estes Auctions, 7404 Ryan Rd., Medina, OH 44256; Toll free: (888) 769-4992; estesauctions@aol.com)

Collins equipment sold well. The 32S-3 transmitter, lower left, sold for $575, the 75S-3 receiver, right, sold for $525, and the 312-B station monitor/control, above left, sold for $125

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.

The top dollar item in the auction -- a 16-tube Zenith Stratosphere model in fair condition brought $7,000.

This Packard Bell Model 602 features a "stationized" dial scale. The dial contains a list of stations in the Southwest and Northwest.

This 12-tube Zenith "Walton" radio sold for $3,250. The knobs were removed for safekeeping.