Vintage CPUs

[grumpydoc]

4004s in CERDIP are worth a lot more than the plastic ones:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Collectible-Vintage-White-Ceramic-Intel-C4004-CPU-Produced-before-mid-1972-/221275012405

Don't confuse value with asking price. That listing has gotten three (refused) offers since August, so the value to the potential buyers seems to be significantly lower than $1500.

Generally good advice, do some research and use the "completed listings" option to see what items actually sold for.

One did go for over $700 though! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-C4004-White-Ceramic-with-Gold-Cap-and-Pins-MINT-/190918374585?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c739f34b9

The same vendor had this one and these went for even higher amounts. Things are worth what people will pay, I suppose.

[fluxcapacitor]

4004s in CERDIP are worth a lot more than the plastic ones:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Collectible-Vintage-White-Ceramic-Intel-C4004-CPU-Produced-before-mid-1972-/221275012405

Shipping: $41.01  Import charges: $345.25  .I don`t know why the import charge is so high ?

[grumpydoc]

Shipping: $41.01  Import charges: $345.25  .I don`t know why the import charge is so high ?

VAT at 20% plus import duty.

[van-c]

I have a ceramic M68000 engineering sample I received from a rep back in the early 1980s.  It's still in the little plastic case Motorola used for those samples.  The chip has never been installed in anything or even tested and its appearance is like new.  Unfortunately, however, the layer of conductive foam has started to crumble and is sticking to the pins in places.  The package itself has little clear plastic tabs on each end.  Interestingly, the chip doesn't have any visible markings on it either top or bottom, but the case has a sticker marked in pencil "M68000 12MHz  25 C" with my name and extension number written on the Motorola label on the lid of the case. 

Collector's item?  Maybe it will have more value for my grandchildren .

--Van

[free_electron]

collectors items ? its a pile of refined sand for crying out loud !

[Simon123]

Nice 68k. Congradulations for taking good care for it.

Btw i just changed title.

[JoeO]

... and a diamond is nothing more than a piece of carbon.

[nctnico]

I have some 8080, 8086, 8288, 8284, 8237, 8255A, WD8250 all pulled from old boards, along with a lot of EPROM's in a box

Same here. I'd better check them out. Look what crazy prices people pay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-C4004-w-gray-traces-/190918867918

[Stonent]

collectors items ? its a pile of refined sand for crying out loud !

Diamonds?! They're just lumps of refined coal for crying out loud! 

[Stonent]

... and a diamond is nothing more than a piece of carbon.

Darn you beat me to the joke. 

[van-c]

I think free_electron was pointing out the absurdity of collecting obsolete semiconductors-- worthless hunks of silicon.  OTOH, the value of most collectables is far beyond their practical worth.  For me, the value of that old 68K is purely sentimental, which is why I kept it for so long instead of tossing it.  I pestered that poor Motorola rep shamelessly for weeks for that sample CPU, which I had intended to put to work in an experimental prototype.  Instead, it ended up spending its entire career in a plastic box.  I wish I'd paid more attention to it, though, maybe checking it for foam-rot once every five years or so.

[codeboy2k]

I wish I'd paid more attention to it, though, maybe checking it for foam-rot once every five years or so.

LOL @ foam-rot... I've got a few old chips that I left alone for 25 years or more in their foam carriers... what a mess.  Nothing special.. mostly CMOS 4000 series in 14 and 16 pin ceramic packaging...

[van-c]

I've had quite a few old ICs damaged by that foam deterioration. Once it starts crumbling, it adheres to the pins and seems to have a corrosive effect over time; I've seen some pins partially eaten away.  I'm trying to find a way to remove the old foam residue without causing electrostatic damage to the chips, possibly with a mild solvent and ground strapping.  Some of my chips are still useful as experimenter parts; but, left alone, they will eventually be ruined.

BTW, the more recent types of conductive foam don't degrade this way.  For smaller ICs, they're best kept in their plastic tubes, if available, and avoid using any foam altogether.