There is another problem, though. Say, a company jumps out of the closet and goes "Hi everybody, we will manufacture new Nixie tubes now!".
Would these tubes be as "genuine" as the antique Nixie tubes, or where would you guys place them?
There is a precedent of a similar kind. Following the renewed interest
to tube AF amplifiers, several factories are currently producing new
vacuum tubes. Given all new possibilities with microcontrollers and
whatnot, modern production can be done better than it was possible in,
let's say, even 1960s. Therefore, electrically, new tubes can be
better (whatever it means) then the NOS ones, and I think that for
some manufacturers they actually are, although I have no specific
facts or evidence of any kind.
If I would design a new tube amplifier intended to be sold in any
quantities no matter how small, then I of course would have chosen
those brand new tubes, provided that they are of sufficient quality.
At home, however, I am currently planning to build a radio using
"genuine" 1920s tubes I am snatching off eBay.
I guess that if there were enough market for brand new Nixies, then
there would be factories producing them. Some of such factories would
even produce Nixies of higher quality than the ones we're using
nowadays.
I think my point is clear now: the answer depends on what exactly
you're looking for. And yes, in my opinion there is no crime in new
stock at all.
Thanks,
Dmitri
