Been talking up a storm with Josh about farming stuff. A question came up about corn pickers. What were the new prices of pull type and mounted corn pickers in their day? Does any one have information about the new price of corn pickers?
Couple pieces I'm very very glad I have found. The original order form, cancelled check, and owners manual of the 2MH my grandfather had bought new. He ordered it 12-5-1960. For the 1961 year. The manual says 5-2-61.
Here's what the form says if you can't read it. New 2MH with M mounting kit, automatic accumite (lubricator), nodular iron rolls (snap rolls), fan attachment, and steel wheel shields.
The price of the new picker is $2990.20 plus $59.80 tax for a total of $3050.00. He traded in his previous picker a 2ME for $650 so he wrote a check for $2400.
Here is the purchasers form, receipt, and cancelled check when he bought that very 2ME used in 1957 for $1400 from a Minneapolis Moline dealer no less.
Here's the insurance form and cancellwd check for when he cancelled the insurance on the 2ME (which also states it's a 1954 model picker) and added the 1961 picker (2MH)
Like I said before I am very glad we found this stuff (and a bunch of other goodies) while cleaning out my grandma's belongings after she passed.
Hope these help with what a picker cost. Also just sharing some of my stuff.
I've got a John Deere price book from late 1971. The list price for a 237 picker with elevator was 4,533.00 dollars. Then you had to add a kit so it could mounted to a tractor. On average the kits were 250.00 dollars. The 300 husker-picker listed for 3,111 dollars w/o head. A 243 head was 2,156 dollars list and the 343 head was 3,560 dollars list. A farmer typically bought around here for 8-10 percent below list back then. Not much afterward the grain boom of the 1970's meant farmers paying list price or more.
