Estes Auctions
Burbank, Ohio -- February 10, 2007

REPORTED BY RAY CHASE

WEB EDITION

The week of February 10, 2007, turned out to be in the midst of a spell of bitter cold weather. The nights were down to zero or 10° above and the temperature during the day did not get above freezing. When we got up on Saturday morning, the outside temperature was 4° above zero, and those concrete floors at the Expo Auction Center in Burbank were darn cold. But radio people are a hardy lot, and a fair crowd showed up for this month's auction. Fortunately, Estes has ceased using his barn for radio auctions and will hold all future auctions at the Expo Center where there are a few more creature comforts.

This auction featured consignments from "Mr. Gustafson" of Franklin, Pennsylvania, Robert Stone and Irene Fair, plus a "collection from Michigan. "

There was a very good selection of Ham gear, lots of 3-dialers, many phonograph items and a very large supply of tubes. An IP-500 was included, but it turned out to be missing a few details and had been worked on internally. Still, it commanded a price of $1,000 even though the market seems to be getting soft for some of these early wireless items, especially the ones that show up more regularly.

Among some very good tube testers, a Hickok 539C drew a price of $850, while a very nice Hickok Cardmatic 123K went for only $175. Otherwise, the usual rows of tables displayed nice wood AC radios, two rows of consoles, some nice crystal sets, (mostly home brew), a table of transistor novelties and several racks of paper goods. The paper, novelties, and bulk tube lots, as well as miscellaneous parts, test equipment and box lots, were handled in side auctions that I could not cover.

A side auction of low value items had started at 9 a.m. and concluded by 9:40 a.m. This side auction will now take the place of the preauctions that Richard Estes used to conduct outside the barn in Seville. These are a lot of fun and produce many project sets or "strip-'em-for-parts" sets.

The main auction ran from 10 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m., although I quit recording at about 4:00 p.m. Without the space heater running, it was getting quite chilly inside and my fingers were becoming numb. I recorded 560 lots for a sale total of slightly over $45,000, but probably over $50,000 would be more accurate if the side auctions, plus lots I missed, were added. The recorded prices do not include the 5 percent buyer's premium at this site.

Richard Estes noted that he has quite a few estate clean-outs scheduled, so the auction schedule will be full for the rest of the year. See print version of A.R.C. for complete auction listing.

Abbreviations: e=excellent, vg=very good, g=good, f=fair, p=poor, unk=unknown condition, N.O.S.=new old stock, wk=working, nwk=not working, WT=with tubes, NT=no tubes, BB=brass based, TT=tipped tube, SW=shortwave, gf=good filament, PS=power supply, PB=push buttons, WE=Western Electric. All prices have been rounded down to the dollar. Some low cost items and items in poor condition or without specific descriptions are omitted

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

Ray Chase has been a radio enthusiast and a collector of many types of radios for years. Currently, he specializes in World War II electronics equipment, as well as early battery superheterodynes. He also has an extensive collection of radio documentation and ephemera.

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.

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For $25 the buyer got a home-brew battery set and a beer can tube shield.

Ham gear -- mostly Hallicrafters receivers and speakers.

This Hickok Model 123K Cardmatic tube tester, with cards, sold for $175.

Another Hickok tube tester, a Model 539C, in very good condition, sold for $850.

A nice slant-front RCA Radiola III-A, in good condition and adapted for use with four miniature tubes, sold for $155.

Another unusual set -- this home-brew crystal set is housed in a "Half & Half" tobacco can. It sold for $35.