John B Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 I have owned this Wheatstone 46 key Duet concertina (Serial 31913), for a long time. From the ledger, it was first sold in 1928. I have never learned to play it. I have no idea what it may be worth. All the keys play and there are no leaks. It is in tune with itself but in higher than concert pitch. The box (well worn) is original. I guess that it would need to be refurbished and tuned before it could realise its full value. I would welcome any suggestions or advice as to whether it is worth refurbishing and how much it might ultimately be worth. Thanks in anticipation of some help. John B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Viehoff Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 It's not going to make you rich. It's a 46-key Maccann duet, the most common kind of duet concertina. At one end of the scale, you can see Hobgoblin http://www.hobgoblin.com/local/contentsfra...d%20Instruments currently have a Wheatstone 46-key Maccann described as "excellent" on their list for £1195. That price would include their overheads for running a range of city centre shops - I think you have to knock a quarter to a third off a price like that for an understanding of what such a concertina in excellent condition might fetch in a private sale. At the other end, ebay prices for unrestored 46-key Maccanns (of all qualities) have historically been in the range of £250-500: a nice one like yours might hope for a price towards the upper end of that range, carefully presented, though ebay is very fickle. Though given economic conditions you might want to watch ebay yourself and see what happens: they come up quite often, once or a month or so. Since you aren't a leading concertina dealer, I think you could be better off selling it as is and leaving your purchaser to choose the exact scope of restoration. The cost of commissioning a restoration could well be about £300, so there certainly isn't a guaranteed profit on commissioning the restoration yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Thank you Ivan for your informed comments. I will keep a lookout on e-Bay to see what may come up in the way of instruments like mine. John B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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