This was first introduced in the early 1960s and the 1962 Worlds Fair under the trade name Touch-Tone. By the 1980s most rotary phones were being phased out in favor of this new upstart.
Rotary-dial phones versus push-button phones While push-button (aka “Touch-Tone”) phones were introduced to the US market in 1963, it took until sometime in the 1980s for those to eclipse rotary-dial phones in ownership. Presumably the deregulation of the US phone market via AT&Ts famed breakup in 1984 had an impact.
Do old rotary phones have any value?
Vintage rotary phones in general have been gaining value as they become harder and harder to come by. For a vintage rotary phone in mint working condition, prices typically range from $20 to as high as $500 for rarer phones. Typical prices are in the $40 to $70 range.
How much does a call last?
Average cell phone conversation lasts 3 minutes 15 seconds.