Calculators Archives - BOTGA Collection https://botga.org/upcp-product-category/calculators/ Bits Of The Golden Age Collection Catalog Mon, 17 Nov 2025 00:45:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 Montgomery Ward P50 Calculator https://botga.org/upcp_product/montgomery-ward-p50-calculator/ Mon, 17 Nov 2025 00:41:09 +0000 https://botga.org/?post_type=upcp_product&p=513 I am sure that I didn’t purchase this, I think it was inherited from my grandparents. My grandfather called Montgomery Ward ‘Monkey Wards’ According to the Smithsonian– This handheld electronic calculator has a tan plastic case and seventeen rectangular plastic keys. In addition to ten digit keys and a decimal point key, it has a
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]]> I am sure that I didn’t purchase this, I think it was inherited from my grandparents. My grandfather called Montgomery Ward ‘Monkey Wards’

According to the Smithsonian–

This handheld electronic calculator has a tan plastic case and seventeen rectangular plastic keys. In addition to ten digit keys and a decimal point key, it has a clear entry/clear key, four arithmetic function keys, and a total key. On the left on the copper-colored keyboard is an on/off switch. Text next to the switch reads: MONTGOMERY (/) WARD. Behind the keyboard is an eight-digit LED display. A compartment for a battery opens on the top of the back.

A jack for a power adapter is on the left side.

A sticker on the back gives instructions. Text at the top reads: WARDS P-50. Text at the bottom reads: Distributed by Montgomery Ward & Co., Inc. (/) Chicago, Illinois 60607 (/) Model No. DNS-8660A (/) Made in U.S.A. Serial No. 57X-152856.

Compare Novus 850 (1986.0988.306). The calculator was made for Montgomery Ward by National Semiconductor Corporation.

References:

Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm, The Complete Collector’s Guide to Pocket Calculators, Tustin, CA: Wilson/Barnett, 1997, p. 102.

Online Datamath Calculator Museum, accessed August 29, 2014.

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]]> 513 Alcor Grand Prix Calculator https://botga.org/upcp_product/alcor-grand-prix-calculator/ Mon, 17 Nov 2025 00:25:05 +0000 https://botga.org/?post_type=upcp_product&p=507 This was my very first calculator. Ordered out of the back of a magazine in the mid 1970s. the back cover slides up and the battery comes out and plugs directly into a 110V AC receptacle. This company also made similar or simply rebranded versions called the Monte Carlo and the Bond. See the Vintage
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]]> This was my very first calculator. Ordered out of the back of a magazine in the mid 1970s. the back cover slides up and the battery comes out and plugs directly into a 110V AC receptacle. This company also made similar or simply rebranded versions called the Monte Carlo and the Bond. See the Vintage Calculator Web Museum for more information.

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]]> 507 Sinclair Cambridge Programmable https://botga.org/upcp_product/sinclair-cambridge-programmable/ Thu, 13 Nov 2025 21:42:19 +0000 https://botga.org/?post_type=upcp_product&p=143 The Cambridge Programmable was my first programmable calculator. I ordered it out of a dubious advertisement in the back of a magazine. It was not overly expensive and one of those ‘8-10 week’ delivery items that you are never sure if it will actually arrive. Overall, it seemed too good to be true but once
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]]> The Cambridge Programmable was my first programmable calculator. I ordered it out of a dubious advertisement in the back of a magazine. It was not overly expensive and one of those ‘8-10 week’ delivery items that you are never sure if it will actually arrive. Overall, it seemed too good to be true but once I got it, I became a true believer in Sinclair.

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