A seller on eBay is claiming that the Vulcan Lyra she is selling is a set used one from TOS.Unfortunately, this is not real, but a reproduction.
The description claims:
"This is an actual set prop: Spock's Vulcan Harp from Star Trek the Original Series. Only three have ever been made. Christie's auctioned one of these about 15 years ago, I have this one, and I have no idea where the other one is. I don't know if this was ever used in an episode; the broker who sold it to me just said it was on the set. I actually contacted Christie's to auction it, but they told me it wasn't something they dealt with anymore, so they suggested I auction it locally. And since no one where I live really cares about Star Trek, here I am auctioning it on ebay...LOL I bought this years ago from a private broker in Long Island New York. It comes with a wooden stand that matches the wood on the harp. The only thing wrong with this is that it's actually supposed to play when you push the buttons on top of the harp, but the circuitry inside of it doesn't work anymore, presumably just because of age. It's been stored for years in a protective case; it's just that it's old. One of the pics has a closeup of the back of the harp where you can see the switch that is supposed to turn the harp on."
As Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum member Seleya pointed out in the thread on this prop reproduction:
"This ebay item appears to be made to some blueprints published at some point, http://cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/vulcan-ha...ction-plans.php. Note the screws at either end of the guard plate under the knobs. Note the back. They fit the plans exactly.
The screws are not on the original screen used: http://www.startrek.com/startrek/mediaview...76&count=-1 http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e333/mik...eKing116-Ar.jpg
EVERY other reproduction that has appeared over time, and the remakes used in Voyager, were *seriously* different from the original."
Also,
"These plans specify use of an electronic component, the 50240 integrated circuit, which became available in the mid 1970's."
Thus, being a TOS item from the 1960s would be out of the question.
And as always, pay attention to the provenance, which is absent here.
Alec
UPDATE: The seller pulled this item after being informed it was not genuine. As as is clear from the above post, I didn't accuse her of trying to defraud anyone, but I was clear that this was mis-described and not what it claimed. It appears she was duped and was passing on what she was told.