The Curta.org Bulletin Board

[murff]

I like to announce the first time publication of the official factory records from Contina AG on my site curta.li:





Overview of the total production quantity Curta I & II






Enjoy!
_________________
:: m u r f f
:: curta.li

[Peter Johnson]

murff,

thank you for some very interesting figures on a subject which has intrigued collectors for years. The thing which strikes me is the round number produced each year. Looking at the Curta II figures, I wonder whether it is likely that they produced to a whole number of hundreds every year. Do you have the start and end serial numbers for each year, or just the start numbers?

Not knowing what documentation you have, I ask whether it is possible that for some reason they started each year with number 5xxx21, with xxx being a sufficiently high number that they did not duplicate a previous year's number.

Taking 1966 for an example. They started with 533921. Then by my suggestion, the last number for 1965 could be in the range 533821 to 533920, both numbers inclusive. Either of those numbers, or any in between, would require 533921 to be the first for 1966, if the number fitted 5xxx21.
_________________
PeteJ

[murff]

The list contains the first and the last of the yearly serial number. And I think Contina made a yearly plan so they were able to produce all the parts for the Curta (as we know they made nearly all parts at Contina with an exception of some standard srews).

So it sounds likely that they produced these lots and not any uneven numbers of Curtas each year.

Interesting are two more facts:
- they didn't decrease the production of Curta type I in the year they started Curta type II
- in the years 1957 to 1959 they only produced a half of the normal amounts (maybe the stock of Curtas was to big - or they started with all the other products like movie cameras or turntables...)
_________________
:: m u r f f
:: curta.li

[murff]

Curta type 1 & 2 - calculate the date of production

Curta type & age calculator by Alfredo Logioia ( curta.com.ar ) in collaboration with curta.li

All information according to official factory records from Contina AG, Mauren, Liechtenstein.
[ first time publication at curta.li | 09-21-2011 | public domain ]
_________________
:: m u r f f
:: curta.li

[murff]

Based on recent researches the factory records of the first five years of production were revised.



1947: no Curtas were manufactured - only some prototypes.
1948: about 100 Curtas were produced
1949: about 300 Curtas were produced
1950: 4700 Curtas were produced (first half of the year: 700, second half of the year: 4000)
1951: 5700 Curtas were produced
1952: 8100 Curtas were produced

Not all serial numbers are representing produced Curtas - about 800 Curtas were never produced. So, the total produced Curtas Type I was about 78730 units.

Curta Type 1, 1a & 2 - calculate the date of production
_________________
:: m u r f f
:: curta.li