1949 Coke radio

[electra225]

I bought this one at an auction west of Sedalia, MO in 2010. I gave ten bucks for it. The thing was beyond nasty when I got it, maybe one of the nastiest radios I ever bought. And, of course, it didn't play. It had a bum rectifier, caused by an equally bum dial light bulb. The dial string was off or gone. It had only part of a speaker cone. The chassis was nice, though. And, after I got it cleaned up, it is probably one of the nicest original Coke radios I ever saw. It is totally original, except I removed the original dirt. The edges of the cabinet aren't chipped, like one typically finds these. I found it to have the original tubes in it, with period-correct codes. All Ken-Rad tubes. I found a correct coded Ken-Rad 35Z5 in my stash, so that was lucky. I put a used speaker in it, not totally correct, but as close as I had. It is a Majestic model 5A410A. Interestingly, I found a Majestic radio of that same model number at an auction. I also, at that same auction, got a Stark model 120 that is a knockoff of the Majestic. So, I have the Coke radio, the Majestic radio with the same chassis, and the Stark radio with a knockoff cabinet to the Majestic, but with miniature tubes. Later versions of the Majestic chassis had a 12AV6 in place of the 12SQ7.

[William]

That's a cool radio, Greg, and you did a nice job on the restoration.

Bill

[electra225]

Thanks, Bill, but I can't take credit for restoring it. All I did was clean it, then get it working again. Restrung the dial, put in a dial bulb, replaced the rectifier, plus the usual recap. The paint is totally original. Oh, and I replaced the speaker.

[19&41]

Nice looking radio! I'd hate to want to buy one now.

[electra225]

Are they spendy now? I have no idea what it's worth. It's just a pretty good radio for an AA5. All three versions I mentioned are good performers. I also have the later solid state version, the one with AM-FM and a cassette tape deck.

[19&41]

Anything Coke is spendy.

[electra225]

The wife liked it, so I bid on it at the auction and we got it. I read some years ago in a book on radio values that it was worth fairly good money at one point. That book must be 35 years old by now, so I guess I never gave it much thought. I was going to sell it at the sale, but the wife still likes it...