Just thought I'd give a bit of an explanation of the disappearance of my Hetchin's Magnum Bonum from the Ebay auction a few days ago. The bike is not sold and will remain as part of my collection of Hetchins.
With about ninety minutes left in the auction I recieved an email from someone questioning the serial number on the rear dropout as #24662, which isn't correct. Since I had gotten this bike from good friend Chris Gonzales in CA I never thought to check serial numbers for authenticity. The serial number from this era should begin with an "H". I scurried to the basement to check once more, and the rear dropout number is as listed, 24662. The dropout does not have enough wear on it, so the H never existed. Next I checked the steering tube which does reveal the correct number beginning with an "H", as H24662. Not sure why the difference, unless the builder lost his punch for the letter and sent the frame off as is.
This oddity was enough to sway me to keep the Bonum, and it will forever hang in my basement between rides. It needs a lot of cleaning etc, but once it's done, I'll get jpgs up on my Wool Jersey Gallery.
Best regards,
Peter Naiman
Glendale, WI