Sluggo's Insulator Collecting - Featured Insulator: CD 422

Featured Insulator: CD 422 AGEE - from Australia

Photos

A nice series showing the evolution of the pony style insulator in Australia.
Left to right: (earliest to latest) CD 420 AGEE, CD 421 AGEE, CD 422 AGEE and CD 423 AGM.

All of my CD 422 AGEEs showing almost the entire range of colours!

Story - History

This is the second installment in the story about the development of the Australian pony style insulators. These styles were known as "Sub" or "Subscriber" type insulators and would have been used on smaller local telephone line construction.

Production of the CD 422 began around 1930 and it was the sub(scriber) insulator of the time. They were used on telephone subscriber lines throughout Australia. When Australian Glass Manufacturers became the Crown Crystal Glass Company in 1942, the first insulator style embossed C.C.G. was a CD 422 in clear or light straw. Most of the CD 422s are embossed with a date code as well as a mold number. This style is probably the most common Australian insulator found in the hobby today, and thus does not command very high prices. The "purple factor" does kick in with these pieces and often there is intense bidding for good amethyst or purple examples, even though these are among the more common and therefore lesser value colours.

The CD 422 molding is usually nice and crisp, with very few defects showing up. If there is something wrong with a CD 422, it is most likely air bubbles in the glass. These insulators are threaded for a metric pin, commonly used throughout Australia.

More Photos

Gray-Amethyst, Blue Gray, Gray with Amber Swirls and Straw!

Embossing, Colours and Price Guide Listing

There are a wide variety of colours found in the CD 422s, ranging from clear and straw, through greens, grays, amethysts, and purples. Several two-tone colour combinations are known as well. The pictures above show the range of colors these come in. I don't have any two-tone 422s yet, but I am on the lookout for them.

CD 422 {F-Skirt} AGEE / (Date Code on most units) {R-Skirt} (Mold Number)
- Blue Gray, Light Amethyst, Amethyst, Straw $5-10 US
- Light Green Aqua, Light Green, Royal Purple $10-15 US
- Green, 2-Tone Aqua/Emerald Green, 2-Tone Amethyst/Emerald Green, Gray w/Amber Swirls $15-20 US
- Emerald Green $20-30 US
CD 422 {F-Skirt} C.C.G. / (Mold Number) {R-Skirt} (Date Code) SB
- Clear $5-10 US

Condition

As you can see from the pictures, I have a bunch of these CD 422s. Condition of them ranges from Very Near Mint to Mint. Minor dings, fleabites, flakes, fisheyes and chips are the most common type of damage seen on these pieces.

Market Place Musings

This style of insulator is almost always available on eBay. There are probably at least four or five auctions a week for this CD. Often they are sold in groups with other styles. Lately there has been a lot of bidding attention for various purple/amethyhst examples of this style. Another example of the "purple factor" kicking in and driving the auction prices up way beyond what the insulators are worth.

Some of the CD 422s that I have I got through a deal with a gentleman in Australia. I paid the postage and he shipped me a box full of CD 422s, 423s and 430s. Others I have purchased through eBay, at prices ranging from $3 or 4 dollars at the low end up to about $20 for the best ones.