I'm still sipping coffee this morning when the doorbell rings — which means its either my mail man or the UPS man! Woo hoo!
I had an insured box that contained my latest Vibroplex bug, an 1958 Original Standard that I picked up off eBay an hour or so after it was listed with a Buy It Now price of $60.
The price was right, and the photo (seen here) showed what looked like a complete bug. Not the best photo, nor the most flattering, but for $60 I had to have it. I've been watching Originals of similar vintage go for well over $100.
The key is here, and sitting on my computer desk, and I'm tickled with it. It's number 202,622.
The eBay listing indicated some rust on the base, but it's really on the bottom side of the key, not the top. The corners of the base really don't show much wear, and the chrome is as original — no scratches on it that I can find. It's funny though, because the quality of the chrome on the bright parts isn't as smooth as you would expect today. The surfaces of the damper and frame are mirror smooth. They have casting marks on them, as though the pieces weren't well polished prior to plating (probably the case).
This doesn't detract from my delight with the key. For a key that's nearly 48 years old, I'm happy as heck!
This key was sold by a ham whose dad was a ham, and was the one who purchased it originally. I've e-mailed the seller asking for more information on his dad to document the key.
All in all, yes, it's a plain vanilla key, just a very, very clean example of a 1950s Original. I got it so cheap I was tempted to strip the grey crackle from the base and refinish it in a japanned style with gold pinstriping like the keys of old. That would give me a very cool key, indeed! What I wish I had was a separate base to play with … I don't really cotton to the idea of vandalizing this key on a whim. A new base is $40, in black crackle, and frankly, if I paid that much I would simply move all the parts to that base and enjoy my old/new bug!
I really want to buy a 100th anniversary Vibroplex bug, and hope to do it soon.