Re: Value of HP collectibles Message #15 Posted by Maximilian Hohmann on 18 July 2006, 9:51 a.m., in response to message #1 by Giancarlo (Italy)
Hi Giancarlo!
Quote: I can not define myself a regular "collector" of HP; I only pick up some opportunities to get a calc once in a while
The same for me, I consider myself a "would-be" collector, lacking both the time to go seriously chasing after old calculators and/or the money to buy them from sources where they are still available. And finanlly the space to store a big collection...
Quote: 1) what is your definition of "value" for an HP collectible?
I thought a while about this (therefore my late answer) and came to this conclusion:
Most important is "personal affection". My most valuable calculator will always remain the Ti-59 that brought me through my last years of school and most of my university studies. It was the most expensive gift my parents had given me by then and as such I will always hold it in high esteem. There are also some HP calculators that have this kind of value for me, like the 45 (the first one I was allowed to use for a few moments) or the 67 (that my father used at work and brought home sometimes, although officially he wasen't allowed to).
Next important, value for me means "useablility". Calculators are nothing but tools, and the simpler and more robust a tool is made, the more usable it is. A '35 or '65 is much more usable (to me, at least), than, say, a '48 - it has better keys, a more practical size, and can be used without constantly looking up things in the manual. I will never, for example, fill the 32k of memory of a 33s with data without being able to store/backup it somewhere, which greatly reduces the practical value, or "useability" ot this machine. Also, I attach more value to special-purpose machines (like navigation calculators) than to do-everything models.
Then comes "originality" or "technical advance" (for its time), and this means, that mostly LED models (or other luminescent display models which HP sadly never manufactured) are of much value to me. When LCD (which I hate, hate, hate - at least the grey-in-grey LCDs used by most pocket calculators) was available, calculators had already become a mass product of little collecting value anyway. Yes, of course I also have some LCD HPs, but if ever I have to give my calculators away, these will be the first ones to go.
"Rarity" of course also contributes somehow to the value I assign to calculators.
The quintessence of my criteria above is reflected in the amount of money I am prepared to spend for (vintage) calculators, e.g. on eBay.
Quote: 2) focusing on calcs collectibles, in your opinion is it more important (according to the definition of n. 1 above) to get a calc anyway, even if not in perfect conditions or the only real valuable piece of collection is the one without any flaw?
I do not care too much about the condition, as long as they work. Nor do I care about original boxes, manuals (as long as the information is accessible from other sources) and accessories, most of which I will never need anyway. My reason is, that I want to actually use the calculators I own. By using, I dont mean to take them out of their box and caress them with gloved fingers once per year, but to take them along for work the whole week. And I have found out, that I never use my (few) mint, boxed and complete calculators (some of which I didn't even unpack for fear of damaging them...)! Which, in the end, makes these items worthless or value-less to me.
The downside of this is the fact that using vintage calculators does them no good. Only recently, my HP-25, an all-time favourite of mine, stopped working and only displays a row of Zeros now. Similar with a Rockwell last year. In the end, I may end up with a collection composed of untouched calculators stacked-up in their original boxes and a big box of dead ones that were all killed by myself :-(
So after saying all this, I must finally contradict myself by admitting the following:
My most expensive (or "valuable"?) calculator so far is an unused, boxed "CalcuPen"... by spending over 250 Euros for this, I violated most of my rules listed under 1.) and 2.) :-)
Saluti, Max
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