Monday, May 14, 2018 — If you — like me — follow code key auctions on eBay, then this past weekend was a humdinger! Auctions for a number of really, really collectible keys were set to end yesterday.
I decided that I would try a little sniping, though admittedly, some budget sniping given the fact that I haven’t sold any of my surplus ham gear on eBay lately. I have several things I need to list (and a number of Windows XP-era laptops too), for what they might be worth. Even without deep pockets, I couldn’t let the auctions end without taking a shot (or maybe two).
One of the harder-to-find keys listed was in an auction that I actually won — for an American Tele-Key sideswiper. I have only see a handful of these keys pass through eBay over the years, and this is a unique key that appealed to me.
Of interest to key collectors too were several collectible Vibroplex keys that were part of the Tom French estate: a 1905 Vibroplex Original; a 1913 Vibroplex with 
Tom French’s note that it is the only known Vibroplex with that style nameplate; and a J.E. Albright licensed Vibroplex clone.
The bidding on these three keys hovered around $200; the Albright bug and the 1913 bug sold for $200 and $203 respectively. The key I really wanted to pursue was the 1905 Original. For a key its age, the nickel plating was in excellent condition, and there’s still some carriage striping visible on the base. I have a couple of 1905 keys, but neither is as nice as the one from the Tom French collection. Long story short, I sniped the key with a bid in the last 3 seconds. Yeah, it wasn’t cheap, but I think its a good investment. It was the top dollar I was willing to go, and frankly, I think I got lucky. Besides, I promised myself that I’ll shed some of my ham gear to help defray the expense. Yeah, that’s the ticket!
There’s never any shortage of collectibles on eBay, just a shortage of funds to buy them, hi!
73 de KY4Z … SK … dit dit …