Why obsolete cable sells
Plants keep running equipment built to older standards. A discontinued control cable or an old colour code can be the only matching spare for a line that is still in service, which makes small quantities disproportionately valuable.
Identify it properly
Record the full legend, the manufacturer and any part number. Obsolete constructions are often identifiable only by a combination of print and tag, so photograph both before anything is moved.
Separate the genuinely dead
Cable with damaged insulation, unknown construction and no footage is recovery material. Mixing it with identifiable obsolete stock drags the whole lot down, so split the pallet before the review.
Sell as a spares lot
Where several obsolete constructions came from one plant, offering them together as maintenance spares often beats selling them individually as scrap.