My HMV 102 Red Case (1948)! Pics

[epigramophone]

I suspect that the £450 blue 102 may have gone to an overseas buyer in a country where that machine is not common.

Sellers who are prepared to take the risks involved in sending machines abroad can sometimes be rewarded by higher prices than most UK buyers would pay, but if anything goes wrong, eBay usually sides with the buyer.

I always make it clear in my listings that I do not post outside the UK, but I still receive questions such as :

"How much to post to Alpha Centauri?"

[dilhermandodidi]

It seems as though tastes have not changed since the 102 was in production.

Of the coloured versions, blue was the best seller followed by red and green. The unpopular brown and grey were soon discontinued and are therefore rarer today, but rarity does not always equate with value to a collector.

The red leather version is sought after today, but good examples are hard to find as both the leather case covering and the gold plating were rather thin and therefore susceptible to wear and tear.

The real rarities are probably light green and the almost mythical pink.

On UK eBay there seems to be an almost insatiable demand for the 102 in any version and in any condition. When or if the bubble will burst I have no idea.

I am old enough to have bought a 102 brand new. It was one of the batch of 102D's made for the Ministry of Supply, unused examples of which were sold in Army Surplus shops in the 1960's. They are identifiable by the instruction plate mounted below the HMV logo inside the lid.

The cost?

£5.

Wow, what a cool price you paid! Never saw this 102 in pink. Must be very rare indeed! I think here of some 20 years the models of both the HMV 101 as the 102 will be very expensive items, the appreciation of the vinyl and the 78's is always growing.