Question on telescope value

I have a question for the group... I have a 1959 3" Unitron 155 that is in pristine condition. It has everything except the little box for the visual back. I noticed one in the classified section (with a few more accessories than I have on mine) listed at $4500.00. Is this a reasonable price for this instrument?

No offense to the guy selling his; but, that seemed a little high. But, to be honest, I have no idea as to the actual worth of this telescope. So, I thought I would just ask for opinions...

Thank you for your serious thoughts...

Hi Cory,
The Unitron scopes have increased in value. The Photo type with guide scope and equipment seem to bring the highest prices and of course condition is also a big factor.
I believe the 4" would be worth $1-3,000 more! This is what I have read anyway.

On something like this the price is whatever gets paid for it. The seller may have listed what he considered a high price and will just lower it till he finds a buyer (or decides to keep it).

These are thin markets, and in thin markets, personal quirks play a big role. Somebody sold an Astro Physics instrument for $30k and everyone else assumed AP instruments are worth that much; but the next seller of a similar instrument couldn't get half that.

The reason being that the first sale had found the buyer willing to pay $30k, and the remaining buyers wouldn't bite at that price.

Greg N

>>I have a 1959 3" Unitron 155 that is in pristine condition.>>

Post a picture of it. I would love to see what it looks like.

Rolando

Cory,

There is no such thing as a 3" Model 155 Unitron. The Model 155 is a 4" Photo Equatorial. The Model 155C adds the electric RA motor, a much desired and hard to find accessory.

If you don't know the worth of your instrument, don't assumme other people don't. The ad you reference in your post is from a gentleman who has been restoring and collecting Unitrons for a long time. He knows the value of these telescopes better than most of us. Just to give you an idea, one similar to his sold for $5,700 late last year here on Astromart.

Like Roland said, post a photo of your instrument and we'll be happy to give you an estimated market value.

Here is a small 4" f/15 sorry achromat. Wanna guess who made it?

Regards,

Angel

Attached Image:

Hi Bill,

A 3" Unitron is not $4500. Perhaps on a good day a fully loaded-photo equatorial model in tip top shape with all accessories will fetch north of $3K. But you have to see one, better yet own one to understand the true "value" of these instruments or any other vintage or antique instrument. It is much more than just about aperture, wave front or color correction. There is pride of ownership, the time spent bringing some of these instruments back to life, joy to use and share with others, the unique history and stories of many of these units, and the fact Unitron telescopes if treated right will last many life times.

Pictured is my 1955 Model 152, old style mount with the painted setting circles in integral OTA cradle. You can probably tell by now that I really love my Unitrons. I feel enormous privilege and great sense of responsibility in knowing I'm a guardian of these old and vintage instruments for generations to come. Think of it, how many people in the world do you think own Unitron refractors. And De Beers wants you to think a 3 CT diamond is rare and highly valuable.

Regards,

Angel

Attached Image:

If its a 3" it will say "D 75mm" on the focuser
and lense cell. The 3" with Alt-Az mount was model
140. With the Equatorial Mount is was model 142.
(Not sure about your model 155.)

A very complete 1955 model 142 (EQ mount,
wood tripod, complete set of wood boxes,
Unihex, 5 eyepieces, solar screens) in very
nice condition sold on eB** last November for $1650.
You can probably use that data point to
estimate an upper price limit on yours.

In 2008 a similar one which additionally had an
original Polarex electric drive motor went for
$2300. Not sure the motor adds $650 -- maybe
prices have dropped recently with the recession.

Cory Stone said:

I have a question for the group... I have a 1959 3" Unitron 155 that is in pristine condition. It has everything except the little box for the visual back. I noticed one in the classified section (with a few more accessories than I have on mine) listed at $4500.00. Is this a reasonable price for this instrument?

No offense to the guy selling his; but, that seemed a little high. But, to be honest, I have no idea as to the actual worth of this telescope. So, I thought I would just ask for opinions...

Thank you for your serious thoughts...

As always, _a scope like this is "worth" what you can convince somebody to pay for it_. That said, this is about 1500 high UNLESS. it is the Photo Equatorial with a clock drive equipped mount and all the trimmins.

Thank you all for the input!

I have to admit having a real doofus moment here!

I double checked the scope and found that it is indeed a 1955 model 142 with original boxes for the scope and accessories, and the box for the wood tripod and EQ mount. This scope has the original 5 eyepieces (with box, Unihex, solar screens, and the Polarex electric drive motor. Everything is in excellent condition and I have had quite a few fun nights with it since I obtained it last year. I took it to TSP and had a great time with it. However, I am an SCT man by nature and have recently acquired an LX 200 and am finding myself never hauling the refractor out anymore. I hate to see such a good instrument go to waste. So, that is why I am contemplating selling it as this time. IT is very cool just owning this neat antique scope... But, if I am not going to use it, I need to get it into the hands of someone who will both use it and love it for what it is.

So, I will do a little more research (should have not trusted the word of the previous owner and simply looked more closely at it myself...), take a battery of photos of it and post it in the classifieds (probably at or around the $2000 mark).

Again, thanks to all of you for your assistance and thoughts...