So my friend threw out a HMV 202

[Marco Gilardetti]

he said it was such a money pit that he did not want to burden me with this old junk. It is really all about perspective, not necessarily ill will.

I get your godfather's point, but I still think that it would be more respectful towards other people's taste and intelligence, close relatives' especially, to let them decide if a specific item is a "money pit" or instead a gift that would give them much joy and amusement for a lifetime. Moreover, someone's "money pit" is another one's "investment".

[alang]

he said it was such a money pit that he did not want to burden me with this old junk. It is really all about perspective, not necessarily ill will.

I get your godfather's point, but I still think that it would be more respectful towards other people's taste and intelligence, close relatives' especially, to let them decide if a specific item is a "money pit" or instead a gift that would give them much joy and amusement for a lifetime. Moreover, someone's "modey pit" is another one's "investment".

Yes, that's exactly what I was upset about, but it was water down the drain at that point.

Andreas

[Steve]

Sorry, but I'm having a very difficult time believing any person would throw away a 202. Why? We're in 2016, an enlightened time, with almost continuous universal web access via phone, PC and other applications. With that comes plentiful information and research material. People in the UK are practically groomed to believe EVERYTHING old and antique is worth money due to silly TV programs. So why wouldn't anyone do a rudimentary check before chucking something out? It just doesn't seem feasible to me. Is this a wind-up? I also have a hard time believing this as 202's are not exactly common machines anyway. If it was an HMV 101 I'd be happy to believe the story. Something doesn't ring true here, sorry to say.

[12jslater]

For the past year I have been hearing about a cabinet gramophone I expected it to be an off-brand machine my friends grandfather brought it around 1950 which he paid £3 for this is what I have been told by my friend his grandfather is dead but his grandmother told him when they brought it and the price I have been shown 2 pictures of it and it did look quite rough but salvageable apparently it was "rubbish" from what my friend insisted.

You are free to believe what you want but I'm just telling you what happened.

[Phono48]

I can well believe that someone bought a 202 for £3.00 in the early 1950s. I was given a mahogany one in 1960, which lived in the outhouse, and was used daily until I became a teenager and temporarily lost interest. It was moved out into the garden, where it slowly rotted away. At this time, all acoustic gramophones were considered to be old-fashioned junk, and people were only too glad to be rid of them. I wish the situation was the same today!

[Marco Gilardetti]

People in the UK are practically groomed to believe EVERYTHING old and antique is worth money due to silly TV programs. So why wouldn't anyone do a rudimentary check before chucking something out?

I'm sorry to say, in turn, that what you write is quite the opposite of what happens in real life. Common people can believe that a lousy off-brand portable is worth billions beacause they saw it on some idiotic TV show and at the same time trash an HMV 202 because they saw a repainted Brunswick missing most of its relevant parts unsold for a tenner on craigslist.

The skill of knowing the objects and appraising them is an ART, and one of those that require more study, time and personal ability to be achieved. A TV show will by no means help people to develop these skills, it will actually just amplify their lack of knowledge.

In any case, most people simply don't give a damn. I've seen very valuable Italian vintage cars, motorbikes and scooters dumped by the millions whith my very own eyes.