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Location: Utah | Last night we got together with some friends for the traditional New Years Eve party. The discussion turned to guitars when one of the neighbors noticed the growing collection, and one of the wives offered that she had an old guitar but didn't know how to play at all.
So being the polite host I asked her if she knew what it was. She said it had been her grandmother's guitar, and was from pre-WWII. It said "Martin" on it. :eek: :eek: .
So I calmly said it was probably worth some money, to which she replied that it was so old it couldn't be worth much of anything.
The thing is packed away so I haven't seen it yet. But let's assume it is a 30's era Martin in ok condition. What kind of range of value is possible? |
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Location: South of most, North of few | Dave? |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Could be worth nothing. Could be worth tens of thousands. All depends what it is and what kind of shape it's in. Dave |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | I would love- just once- to run into this kinda situation...
"Your Grandmother's guitar? Do know what kind? 1930's Martin, you say? Can I see it? Ah, it's in pretty good shape. You could probably sale this for ... say, 40 grand..."
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Location: closely held secret | Insert Jeff into this...
"Your Grandmother's guitar? Do you know what kind? 1930's Martin, you say? Can I see it? Ah, it's obviously been played, rode hard and put away wet, you know what I mean? Plus it's horribly out of tune from being in that closet all those years. You might be able to get $50-$60 for it. I might be able to make it into a suitable wall decoration. Tell you what... I'll take it off your hands for $100 cash..." |
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Location: Stow, Ohio | been there done that with a 1947 D-28.
just remember Karma has a way of finding you! |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | It all depends what model it is. Let's get that info first and then let the speculation run wild. The model and year (or s/n) and then we can tell you. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by The Wabbit Formerly Known As Waskel:
Insert Jeff into this...
"Your Grandmother's guitar? Do you know what kind? 1930's Martin, you say? Can I see it? Ah, it's obviously been played, rode hard and put away wet, you know what I mean? Plus it's horribly out of tune from being in that closet all those years. You might be able to get $50-$60 for it. I might be able to make it into a suitable wall decoration. Tell you what... I'll take it off your hands for $100 cash..." You know I would never do that, Wask.
I wouldn't go a dime over 75.00 |
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Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by Jeff W.:
You know I would never do that, Wask.
I wouldn't go a dime over 75.00 I was trying to make you look more altruistic. ;) |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Good luck with that. |
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Location: closely held secret | I felt as a friend, it was my duty to try (lost cause that it is). |
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| Whats your neighbors name and phone number? :cool: |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | There was one on ebay that was being shown here a year or so ago. It looked a little beat up from the pictures and the price was a couple hundred thousand. |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Model, condition, and originality...Martin made a lot of models and not all are worth big money. It's important, if it needs repairs, to get it to one of the few expert Martin repair persons; less than expert repair can ruin value...or at least could diminish it...
If it needs no repair, all the better...but again, lets see what the model is...I had a member of my church who had been telling me he had a very old Martin...He brought it to me..turns out it's a 1970 D-35: original case,, nice condition but needs a neck reset and intonation alignment (common on 70's Martins) and a general clean and polish...value is between $1100 - $1600, after repair...D-35's are not held in high regard by Vintage Martin Collectors...The bracing is very stiff and different from the 28's which affects the sound...of course, the owner has no idea: to him its worth a fortune because it's an old Martin.
BTW, Paul (Elliot), the "47" is actually a 1948 D-28 (1947's and 1948's are virtually identical); I'm going to Wayne's shop and see it tomorrow...I have a new case for it.
keep us informed Flysig... |
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Location: Utah | As soon as I can convince her to dig it out from under the bed I'll get more info. All she has told me so far is that her grandmother got it when she was young, which would certainly put it pre-WWII. Her grandma played it regularly. The woman who has it now was told sometime in the distant past that it would be worth a few hundred or even a thousand dollars, so she's stored it away. Who knows what kind of condition it is in now.
What's the next step in preserving the guitar if it isn't already junk? Should I have her loosen the strings a bit? Humidify it? Oil the fretboard and wax the wood? Or is it best to leave it alone and have it assessed by a knowledgeable restorer before doing anything at all? |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Also, to Paul's (Elliot) credit, he could have gotten the 48 for a gift for His project...but knowing the elderly lady had no idea of the value of the guitar, and also taking into account that she needed money to live on, he looked for a situation that took into account all of those things and the fact of her wishes for her brothers instrument...by using his integrity, he was able to acomplish her wants and needs, his needs, and the needs of some very brave men and women in our Military. And yes, I got a guitar as well...but as Paul said before, no one but us knows the whole story...however I feel that Paul's integrity needs to be commended!
Semper Fi, Marine! |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Flysig, call me and I can suggest the best persons to work on it...they are men of integrity so you can be safe with them...I would loosen the strings and thats all for the time being...take some pictures and i can help you identify the model and year...pm me or email me...and for those who will probably think it: I have no interest in this except to help Flysig out...I've been doing this for a long time and know the persons who do this for a living. |
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Location: Flushing, MI | Does it look anything like this?
This is my '34 Martin 0-17. She's beat. I have no idea what it's worth. A few thousand??? These mahogany 0-17's from this time period seem to be quite common, and they're not really all that collectable. Sure sound nice though! |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Maybe a thousand but probably less.
I'm available for a second opinion when the details come clear on what it is. |
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Location: Utah | Mike, I'll get in touch for sure if this turns out to be anything of value. Probably they won't want to sell, but on the other hand if it could replace the income from his last ten years to retirement, they might decide to pull the plug.
In any case, it would be a shame for a nice old guitar to turn to junk due to poor care, even if it isn't worth anything. |
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Location: ms | If its a 1930s Martin its worth something no matter the shape its in.... |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Nothing to me. |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Sig: having Beal available is great news: Thanks Bill! Dave is an excellent resourse as well...The serial number and model number is usually on the neck block and can be seen looking through the sound hole towards the neck. I'll be happy to help if I can. Remember, patience goes a long way! |
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What's a 1930's Martin worth
