Astro-Physics 5" f6 vintage refractor

This is an opportunity to acquire one of the earliest generation of Astro-Physics telescopes. This is a 5" f6 Christen Triplet, serial number 50625. It is the precursor in the lineage of fast 5" scopes that was followed by the 130 EDF, 130 EDF GT, and ultimately the 130 EDF GTX. The optics are in excellent condition as shown in the images. Focuser is 2" and is incredibly smooth. Some cosmetic marks on the OTA as shown in images. Price is $2950 + shipping and PP fees. 

Here is what Roland Christen had to say about this particular scope, when queried about it on the AP user's group: "The 5"F6 lens #25 was made ... when we had a permanent optical shop. It was finished in April of 1987. The designs changed depending on glass availability and as new glass types came on the market. We experimented with a lot of different designs, most of them oil spaced but also a number of airspaced lenses were made. A lot of our glass in later years was supplied by Ohara, mainly because of their high internal quality that was unmatched by any other glass company.

Today of course the Taylor type triplets (center flint surrounded by 2 crowns) are no longer made, mainly because the crown glass is now a very expensive ED glass. Therefore the vast majority of triplets now have a Steinheil design with flint leading the crown. The "flint" of course is actually a crown glass and the "crown" is a hyper-crown or ED glass."

Here is a description of this scope from the 1986 Astro-Physics catalogue: "Our lenses use three matched optical glasses to combine the colors of the visual spectrum into intense, sharp, concentrated images. High transmission glass, free of striae and imperfection is used to make the objective lens. This results in a clean optical system with superior resolution, contrast and light gathering power. When seeing permits, powers up to 100x per inch of aperture are practical for lunar/planetary or double star work. The wide-field performance of this design is outstanding. Images on color film are crisp and sharp with no annoying blue halos around bright stars. Wide-field 2 inch oculars can be used for low power visual exploration of the sky. Deep sky objects stand out in stark contrast against velvet black skies. 

Our F6 Triplets are perfect for wide field astrophotography and deep sky visual work. They also work surprisingly well for high power lunar, planetary and double star observing. The short tube and light weight make them a delight to use in the field. Color correction extends from C to g wavelengths and the design is free of spherical aberration and coma."