TMS 8080 JL white/gold date code 7546

[Jedi08]

How rare is it? $$$?

[johnorun]

[jrmunro]

Very nice chip.
John

[isa-d]

[kosmokrator]

niceeee

[doccybrown]

[doccybrown]

More rare than a Signetics MP8080AI (highest price I tracked was $170)
so my guess is $200-250!

[hugo929]

really?
last tms8080 purple on ebay i saw ran 12usd only

[doccybrown]

Low prices happen sometimes, nice for us collectors!
Especially if auctions are not well advertised low ending prices are
more possible than for well advertised (like "old computer chip" vs.
"early vintage white / purple ceramic gold 8080 processor from Texas
Instruments / CPU like Intel C8080 MITS ALTAIR IMSAI")
Well advertised auction + lot of watching people/interested collectors with big
moneybag gives roughly the collector's/marked value in my opinion.
And if only one lonely collector is watching the hidden C4040-auction
it will go for $1! But this happens so rarely that the averages of
tracked auctions are still very reliable values (with small tendencies
for being too low IMWO).

[isa-d]

[doccybrown]

If you get rare CPUs for small money be happy,
but this has not much to do with the collector`s value!
Check the averages to get a low medium price,
the averages are already influenced by bad selling
auctions (poorly advertised auctions with only a few
interested buyers / people who aren`t ready to pay
reasonable price [price that considers the rareness/shape
and not popularity/demand by hobbyists])

Popularity is another point, many non CPU-collectors
have an Intel C4004 I bet because they are into
computers but not real collectors so prices on ebay are
accordingly high. Due to the popularity all CPU-collectors (?)
want to have an Intel C4004-> high search activity
on ebay after this and very high prices although it is
not one of the rarest CPUs ever made!!!

Now as example there is an under collectors mostly unknown (?)
white ceramic MMI 6701 in mint shape on ebay, what happens?
Right, low price, to be exactly I was aware of one going for $38,
now tell me this is in reasonable correlation to it`s rareness? No, it isn`t.

After some considerations I came to a conclusion that
market value/street prices and collectors value are two
different pairs of shoes:
collectors value = considers the (estimated) rareness, usually
much higher than the street-prices, price that an enthusiastic
collector would averagely max. spend for a rare chip
(to get it "quick and dirty" with very low time exposure [without
years of searching on ebay/etc.] and the sureness to get it finally
and without any fears to see it never again).
street-prices = just the average prices on ebay and sale-forum

For coins and stamps it is the same: collectors value stated in the
handbooks are up to threefold higher than the real prices
you usually have to pay. But partially this is attributed to the
shape of the objects (in handbook stated prices are max. prices
for objects in excellent shape as far I know)....

LOL looks like I already wrote a lot again