Re: Golden II

["Ernest" <leucoplast@seanet.NOSPAM.com>]

> "Rubywand" <rubywand@swbell.net> wrote

>  Neat! Never heard of a "Golden II" before. Maybe you could
> show a pic or two.

"Bill Garber" <willy46pa@comcast.net> wrote

> I've seen Golden IIs on eBay at least twice.

Yeah, I've only seen a two or three in all the years that I've been looking,
so I was pleased to finally get one. It was one of the clones that I felt
that no "serious" clone collection should be without. It's kind of funny,
now that I think about it, because Apple II clones are not hard to find
UNLESS you are looking for a specific clone -then you suddenly realize that
particular clones are hard to find. If I just hunt for Apple II clones on
ebay, I can find at least one at any given time but if I hunt for say, a
Golden II or a Pineapple, I practically never see them.

So, getting back to my point, the Golden II is no more or less rare than an
APCO or an Arrow 1000, but since more people know about the Golden II, it
has more value. The Franklin Ace 1000 is one of the most common clones but
often, it sells for more than the rarest clones.

Here is a list of what I think the most valuable clones should be:

1.   Pineapple
2.   Mimic Spartan
3.   Agat-9
4.   Micro SCI Havoc
5.   ITT 2020
6.   Golden II
7.   Basis 108
8.   Polymax Maxxi
9.   Multitech MPF II or III
10. Franklin Ace 100

The top seven on the list are firm, based on a combination of scarcity and
name mystique. Everything below those are a little more debatable. The top
six on the list are damned near impossible to find but that isn't saying
much because almost all clones are hard to find -the Franklin Ace 1000 and
Laser 128 are the exceptions. There are many clones that I've only ever seen
one of but they are less valuable (at this time) because no one has ever
heard of them.

I sometimes wonder how many of any particular clone are left? I know that
there were only about 200 Mimic Spartans sold -and I know where four are. I
only know of one or two SCI Havocs, and certainly only one Agat 9. I plan to
add a list area to my web site that will allow visitors to indicate if they
have a particular clone, and with that list, I hope to be able to show how
rare most clones really are. It might take years to build a good list but it
will be interesting to see the results. I'll include a column for serial
numbers, so that they can be tracked if they are sold on ebay, etc..