"Internally the condenser has been upgraded by an early amateur adding to the character of the piece. You can also note from the photos where the original owner of this Paragon 2-5-U had the set screwed down to the operating table in his shack… a common practice in days gone by!
"
To me that translates as: "some yutz changed the cap and it's funny looking but I won't dare call it that, so it's added to the character." A transmitter has character? I suppose we need character witnesses for that. And: "the same idiot or others whacked some holes in it but if I can convince you that back then guys were worried about theft maybe you'll agree the holes add 'more character.'"
"The last Paragon 2-5-U transmitter to sell in the collecting community was at the Ralph Thorn auction in May of 2002. The set sold for $5700. (I actually sold that transmitter to Ralph in the early 1990’s.) The reserve on this Paragon 2-5-U has been set well below this previous selling price."
Translated: "I know I'm not going to get the same price for this one since the yutz changed the ammeter, capacitor AND drilled holes in it, but I'll cross my fingers and see what you'll pay for this seriously altered copy."
Maybe I just have no faith and I really am no 1921 expert, but it looks nice, aside from the wrong meter, capacitor and holes. Small details for only $3800. At least it's consistent with one common aspect of stuff sold back in the day: tubes are not included.
