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Western Electric 274A Tubes....

Mortega64

Mortega64

New Member
Hey all,

Went to an auction yesterday and picked up a mystery box full of old tubes...halfway buried in the box was a cache of western electric tubes, including these NOS 274A rectifiers.

One of the seals on the boxes was already broken, and upon handling the other box...its seal tore as well.

My question, would I ruin the value further unwrapping the tubes to test them? Did the value go down with the factory seal being torn in handling?

I personally would not buy a tube off of the internet untested, but I didn't know if these were an exception.

Any input would be appreciated.

Pictures posted below:

IMG_0365[1].JPG IMG_0366[1].JPG IMG_0367[1].JPG
 
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Hopefully no one here is trying to lowball you as I type this. You know you stumbled upon something special and quite collectible. There are several akers in Kansas. Stereocouple is one. Too bad jay is gone! Look for someone in your area with a calibrated tube tester to test tubes on. Take lots of pictures and check the global shipping program box on ebay when you list them. Nice payday for sure....
 
With tubes that valuable, you almost have to open the box to make sure its what is really in there.. I could be wrong, and this is just my opinion, but sealed box with untested tubes is a gamble, and they are more valuable opened and tested. But, as has been mentioned, make sure the person testing them knows exactly what they are doing.
 
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I am aware of how valuable these tubes are. I decided to carefully unwrap these and test them to ensure they are indeed good/test NOS.

One of my audio buddies has a TV-7D/U tester that was used to test them just now. The tube tester I have cannot do the 4-pin tubes (Hickok 6000a).

They match pretty close and test above NOS, they have matching date codes and had their original literature wrapped up with the tubes!

Below are some pictures:

IMG_0368[1].JPG IMG_0369[1].JPG IMG_0370[1].JPG IMG_0371[1].JPG IMG_0372[1].JPG IMG_0375[1].JPG IMG_0376[1].JPG IMG_0377[1].JPG IMG_0379[1].JPG
 
What else was in there? I should PM you to tell you how to sell them for me for very cheap...jk
 
jeb98 said:
What else was in there? I should PM you to tell you how to sell them for me for very cheap...jk
Click to expand...

A LOT of NOS 83 rectifiers were in the box, NOS 807's, about 5x NOS WE 374A's, WE 313C's, WE 717A's, WE 400A's, WE 403A/B's.....

Did find some NOS/NIB RCA 5691's in the box, probably the 2nd most valuable bunch of tubes in the lot.

Some other goodies that I purchased at the auction were a couple Knight amplifiers (loaded with mullard tubes), a vintage home-brew stereo amplifier with ADC (audio development company) output transformers (SE triode amp), and a Western Electric amplifier....possibly 118a??? The WE amp is RUSTY, so it might be a gamble.

In retrospect, it was one of my better/best auction experiences. Should have bought more...
 
Mortega64 said:
A LOT of NOS 83 rectifiers were in the box, NOS 807's, about 5x NOS WE 374A's, WE 313C's, WE 717A's, WE 400A's, WE 403A/B's.....

Did find some NOS/NIB RCA 5691's in the box, probably the 2nd most valuable bunch of tubes in the lot.

Some other goodies that I purchased at the auction were a couple Knight amplifiers (loaded with mullard tubes), a vintage home-brew stereo amplifier with ADC (audio development company) output transformers (SE triode amp), and a Western Electric amplifier....possibly 118a??? The WE amp is RUSTY, so it might be a gamble.

In retrospect, it was one of my better/best auction experiences. Should have bought more...
Click to expand...

Wow there were more boxes of tubes?? Wonder who got the 300B's in the original boxes. ;). I still regret not purchasing this large western electric...thing... some sort of rectifier item with large knobs on it and peering inside I could see W.E. tubes. It was cheap but large so I didn't buy it not thinking the tubes or the entire thing could be valuable. Anyway, glad you got some nice tubes! The 274A's should pay for some nice gear, unless you are planning on keeping them.
 
jeb98 said:
Wow there were more boxes of tubes?? Wonder who got the 300B's in the original boxes. ;). I still regret not purchasing this large western electric...thing... some sort of rectifier item with large knobs on it and peering inside I could see W.E. tubes. It was cheap but large so I didn't buy it not thinking the tubes or the entire thing could be valuable. Anyway, glad you got some nice tubes! The 274A's should pay for some nice gear, unless you are planning on keeping them.
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I hope there were no more tube boxes, all I saw was just the ONE :oops:

To be honest, the auction was weird.....there was so much stuff there. The auctioneers pulled all of the items out of the house/garage/shed that they thought were valuable and set it outside. Everything else was left inside. When they got to the buildings, they offered choice, then the entire contents for one money. :crazy:

I scrounged around, found a box of tubes, some amps, odds-and-ends, and made an offer. All of the valuable stuff that I got was STILL inside the buildings/house. It is quite possible I missed a few things...maybe I need to make a call to the auction company to see who purchased the shed/house contents...

Anyways, since the previous owner was a HAM radio guy, I doubt there were any 300B's lying around....I hope.
 
That is a great score with bunch of WE tubes - NOS or not. That picture of other stuff looks like fun, too. That middle unit's components resemble WE as well - transformers and oil caps maybe?
 
gogofast said:
That is a great score with bunch of WE tubes - NOS or not. That picture of other stuff looks like fun, too. That middle unit's components resemble WE as well - transformers and oil caps maybe?
Click to expand...
The middle unit is indeed a Western Electric unit, I thought it was an amplifier but it turns out that it is some sort of WE power supply full of WE transformers, chokes, and condensers. Need to do some more digging, but it takes 2x WE 403B's, WE 421A, WE 422A, 0A2, and an 0B2. Did not find any 421A/422A tubes in the box I got :(, should have scrounged around at the auction some more...
 
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