Today it's Christmas in July here at my hill overlooking Cox's Creek. Today, one of my finest eBay “snipes” arrived by USPS Priority Mail — an absolutely mint condition 100th Anniversary Vibroplex Original.
I've wanted one for a couple of years, but the price was a bit much. This one on eBay didn't seem to attract much attention. In my conversation with the seller, he revealed the key's serial number was not recorded as one sold by Vibroplex. It turns out that someone else later requested a specific serial number for their 100th Anniversary key — the same serial number as one on my key — and Vibroplex had no record of mine, and sold a second key with my serial number.
Vibroplex has offered to change the serial number on either of our keys, but I think the fact that this is a “mistake” key makes it a little unique.
The company still is selling 100th Anniversary Originals, but at a reduced price due to flaws in the finish on the bases. I got a perfect key for less than the cost of a second, but I'm not sure I would really be able to tell much difference between mine and a “second.”
It's a gorgeous key, even though the only difference is the paint on the base. I have planned to paint a couple of Vibroplex key bases in the black-with-gold-striping motif, a homebrewed psuedo-100th anniversary bug, just to get a little experience under my belt with the striping before I tackle refinishing the bases on some of my older bugs. The 100th anniversary key gives you a glimpse back at what these old worn keys I have would have looked like when they were brand new.
Of course, the keys were produced to be used as tools, not to be collected. The ones that worked for a living had a hard life. If they weren't such sturdy machines I'm sure they would not have withstood the ages.