For Sale: Vintage Silver Mica Molded Capacitors

[CreationShare]

Price: Each capacitor is $1
Shipping: $3 - $7 USPS First Class
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Payment: PayPal

Circa 1970’s according to old inventory punch cards in the box. I live in an apartment home and we share garages. Previous neighbor left two shoeboxes of capacitors when they moved.

Sangamo

51pF 5% | Quantity: 18


68pF 2% | Quantity: 6


33pF 10% | Quantity: 27


27pF 5% | Quantity: 60


47pF 10% | Quantity: 71


I’ll be adding more to this list soon so stay tuned!

 

[73's de Edd]

Dream on . . . . .

 

[CreationShare]

Dream on . . . . .

Average rate is $1 for vintage. Either you are interested in buying or not.

 

[davenn]

Average rate is $1 for vintage.

only to those trying to rip others off


10 / $1 would be far more realistic

 

[hevans1944]

Average rate is $1 for vintage. Either you are interested in buying or not.

The only folks interested in buying vintage components are those who are restoring vintage equipment, and those who want to preserve, as much as possible, the original authenticity of that equipment.

If I were restoring a vintage radio (for example) that used silver mica capacitors like the ones you posted pictures of, I would opt for a modern dipped mica or similar capacitor if I needed to replace an original mica capacitor that had somehow gone bad. My goal would be to make the radio operational again, not to preserve it's ancient authenticity. I might even substitute solid-state components <gasp!> for hard-to-find valves and vacuum tubes. At one extreme, I would use the original tube sockets but wire up just the filaments to create that nostalgic glow and smell, The real electronics would be hidden somewhere else inside the case. Might put a little effort into restoring the original wood finish if it had a nice wooden case.

There will be some who will think this attitude is sacrilege or heresy or some other despicable trait of character, but that's just the way I look at it. Go pound sand if it doesn't float your boat. I'm not interested in antique electronics for the sake of it being antique. IMHO, most of the antique collectables game is a farce: slick sellers playing against gullible buyers who think they are "investing" in something valuable. There are plenty of websites that cater to that. Go find a few and post your offers to sell there.

Electronics Point is a hobbyist forum. Most of us who participate here live in the 21st Century and use modern components. We often obtain components quite inexpensively from Internet resources based in Asia or Pacific Rim countries. Good luck disposing of your shoeboxes full of treasure with that kind of competition.

 

[kellys_eye]

There are sites dedicated to the absolute restoration of radio's that MIGHT be interested in these parts. They aren't exactly common but, then again, nor are they in demand hence the incredulity at the requested price.

Modern SM capacitors with 500V ratings are only $1 (or less in many cases) and can be had in 'any' value you want - not the limited ranged offered - so as far as offering such items on this forum is concerned the OP is chancing it somewhat.....

These are items that have been priced according to figures taken from the likes of eBay but with zero consideration for the speed at which the seller may be prepared to sell them...... yeah, stick them up there for a year or two and you might eventually get rid of them at those prices but if you want shot of them quickly and in quantity then $1 for FIVE would be more realistic though even at that price I still doubt you'd get many offers.

....and considering...

Previous neighbor left two shoeboxes of capacitors when they moved

the prices are a bit 'cheeky'.

I'm actually after some SM capacitors too but the age/style of the ones on offer mean I wouldn't touch them with a barge-pole.

Try some antique radio restoration sites.

 

[(*steve*)]

I tend to agree with many of the comments above. Silver Mica aren't used a lot for new designs these days, and if they are, most people would probably want new components unless they're designing something they really want to look vintage. In this case, maybe look for forums where people are constructing things like crystal radios.

The old components may be useful for someone restoring old equipment where they want to retain as close to the original look as possible. However, mica capacitors are very reliable and would rarely need replacement. But rarely does not mean never, so a vintage radio restoration site would be a good place to advertise.

Some people seem to ascribe almost magical powers to vintage capacitors. If you really want to make money from these capacitors you'll probably want to find a source of people who will want to replace more modern capacitors with these. I'd suggest you go to forums dedicated to tube guitar amplifiers...

 

[CreationShare]

Thank you for the helpful information, Steve!