Hand Held Calculators – Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Blog – Hewlett Packard is where it's at

Calculator - Thanks to gotoforms.com

 

Thanks Mason, I couldn't say it better myself. After 1000 or close to it blogs, I find great pleasure in having one of the members of the Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Club send me a finished blog. Mason’s story, following John's success, should inspire more readers to get started on their own “31 Steps to their Millions.” For those who say our program of compounding our money is impossible, read Mason's and John's accounts of how they are doing that very thing. This list of successes is going to increase and the only outstanding question for you should be “Is my name going to be on it?” 

Here is Mason's blog.

Being a member and putting into place the 31 Steps, all adds up.  That is written tongue in cheek as the items I am bringing forward are vintage hand held electronic calculators.  The first electronic hand held calculator was developed by Texas Instruments in 1967. I want to focus on what is the most profitable section of hand held calculators, Hewlett Packard.

A quick look on eBay will show a Hewlett Packard HP 01 Calculator Watch selling for $856 to $2200.  I have seen several of these calculator watches selling for over $3000.  These items can be found at garage and yard sales today.  A more easily found Hewlett Packard item is the calculator.  HP calculators can be found for $1 at yard sales.  A recent find of a vintage HP 41 CV netted $200 on a $5 purchase.  I just purchased two vintage HP calculators for $76 and expect to sell them for over $300.

HP calculators are to the collector and user the "holy grail" of calculators.  They are primarily used by engineers, scientists and financial professionals.  My first introduction to an HP hand held calculator was when I worked for Appalachian Power Company in their engineering and surveying department. It was somewhat unusual as it did not have an equal sign.  HP calculators use a mathematical formulation called RPN or reverse Polish notation where algebraic formulas and stacking are utilized.  I find it difficult to use a hand held calculator without RPN since I have been using HP calculators since 1984.

As with all items, condition, condition, condition is the most important feature.  Hewlett Packard has a website, www.hpmuseum.org that features a Collectors Corner that gives information on what to look for, rarity of the models, how to inspect the calculators and even pricing for vintage calculators.

Let's see; a $5 investment and a $205 sale equals 4000% profit.  Add that to the thrill of the hunt and the excitement of being a 31 Club member, and you get a return on investment of Heavenly proportion.  All puns intended.

Now that is what I'm talking about. 

 

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