Sunday, July 24, 2011 — There’s been some amazing auctions close on eBay in the last couple of days — some worth mentioning in this blog.
BROWN BROTHERS CSA BUG/STRAIGHT KEY COMBO. The Brown Brothers manufactured code keys — straight keys and iambic paddles — from 1964 to 1979. They were built by Bill Brown in his basement machine shop. He built all the dies and tooling, hand finished, assembled and labeled the keys. They turn up frequently on eBay. The keys are solid and dependable. The other Brown brother was Ed Brown, the financier and silent partner.
The rarest Brown Brothers key produced is the CSA key — a combination straight key/bug. I have read that they only made a few due to the popularity of the other keys; I’ve also read that Vibroplex threatened legal action of some sort, hence their quick exit from the semi-automatic key market.
The CSA is exceeding rare — this was the first one that I recall seeing on eBay, and it probably tripled the number of photos available online to illustrate what the key looked like. How rare is the CSA key? The winning bid on the auction that ended Saturday, June 23rd was $4,335!
The seller knew what he had, too — his opening bid was $1,850. The third bid of $4,285 in the auctions closing seconds failed to eclipse the bid posted four hours earlier by a buyer who wanted the key that badly.
AUCTION UPS … AND DOWNS. As I wrote earlier in this space, there seems to be glut of semi-automatic keys selling on eBay. I’ve seen some really nice keys sell for excellent prices. Examples include:
- A 1977 Vibroplex Lightning Bug for $35
- A mint 1941 Vibroplex Original with case for $76;
- A Vibroplex Presentation for $66;
- 1938 McElroy Mac Key for $50 (wish I had seen this one!);
- A John Merrick bug (Merrick was a famous key collector/maker) for $123.
And I’ve seen the reverse:
- A buyer paid more for a Vibroplex Code Mite used in an auction than the key costs new;
- A buyer paid $51 for a Vibroplex carrying case — without a key inside;
- A buyer paid $420 for a Bunnell sideswiper cootie key when two others just like sold for about half that a day or so later.
Right now its a buyers market; I’ve seen some really rare keys sell this week at very good prices. Unfortunately, I’m not in the market for those higher-end bugs at present. Maybe sometime the jingle in my pocket and the availability of nice bugs on eBay will align … then look out!
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