The Curta.org Bulletin Board

[hpp]

I found this on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/nl/listing/4492870037/curta-type-i-cutaway-zeldzaam-volledig?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=curta&ref=sr_gallery-1-6&frs=1&local_signal_search=1&content_source=6c1af993-8e7e-4bee-b2e0-4540f05f3907%253ALT979e0ce730971c3d7a0f6d2887e4b2cc7020123e&organic_search_click=1&logging_key=6c1af993-8e7e-4bee-b2e0-4540f05f3907%3ALT979e0ce730971c3d7a0f6d2887e4b2cc7020123e

I assume this is a Curta Demo scam?

[Pete42]

Judging from the Delrin crank and plastic clearing lever it seems the machine was made from a late Curta I, probably around 1970.

The serial number indicates a pretty early Curta I, so it's probably fake.

That would match the story that it was made by the last Curta/Hilti technicians, however it would almost certainly not have been intended to be used as a demo model because Curta production was nearing the end and there would have be no need to demonstrate the machine's mechanism because nobody wanted to buy them anymore anyway.

My suspicion is that it was made as a "demo" model to squeeze some money out of someone who'd be fooled into believing it was a rare piece of Curta history.