English Concertina For Sale

[Basjan]

I have an English Wheatstone (48 button) that I want to sell. It is brown with black and white buttons. The serial number is 35023. How much is it worth?

[Dieppe]

I have an English Wheatstone (48 button) that I want to sell. It is brown with black and white buttons. The serial number is 35023. How much is it worth?

 

Well, that depends on a lot of things. What condition is it in? Has is ever been tuned in the past 50 years? It looks like it's a 1938 instrument, which could mean it doesn't have concert pitch. How are the bellows? Air tight? Are all the buttons there? Is the finish worn? If it's in perfect condition it could be $1000-$2000, depending on the style. It's more likely to be more valuable to a concertina player (you've come to the right place to ask) than to someone who's going to buy it and display it on a shelf... however.

 

 

Someone else here can probably give a better answer. If it's in poor condition you might be lucky to get $300 for it. Often people put them on the eBay lottery and let the market decide. (Believe me, when any concertina gets listed on eBay at least 20 people from here are taking a look.)

 

If you do go that route, take pictures. Take pictures of each end, of the serial number, of the bellows extended, of any case that it might come with. If you really want to get detailed take a picture of each of the 6 (or 8) sides of the bellows extended. Sometimes people take photos of the guts (reeds). That could be a controversial. Some people like to see what the layout is inside, whether the reeds are steel or brass, how the valves (leather flaps) are, the condition of the reeds (are they rusty or corroded? (If they are---do NOT try to "clean" them if you don't know what you're doing.)) The more pictures the better.

 

Also, you're likely to get a very low ball price if you take it to a local pawn shop. If you happen to live in MA, or near where a concertina player might live, you could get a player to take a look. In all honesty though your best bet is to dust it off, take a ton of pictures, post them here.. If you do get an offer that you can live with, save yourself the eBay fees and send Concertina.Net a donation of the money you've saved. If not, well---eBay is probably your best place to get the most (and fair) price that you could sell it at.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Good luck!

 

Patrick

[Pete Dunk]

This is a model 3, basic and bottom of the range at the time; it will have steel reeds and 'ivorine' keys that may or may not be bushed through the rosewood ends, five fold bellows (so better than the bottom end of Lachenal's range). I wouldn't even like to hazard a guess at value without detailed pics but it won't be a lot of money compared the the better models, might just be a nice little player though.

[Dieppe]

This is a model 3, basic and bottom of the range at the time; it will have steel reeds and 'ivorine' keys that may or may not be bushed through the rosewood ends, five fold bellows (so better than the bottom end of Lachenal's range). I wouldn't even like to hazard a guess at value without detailed pics but it won't be a lot of money compared the the better models, might just be a nice little player though.

 

That's a bit of knowledge that's useful. I wouldn't want to original poster to get ideas of dollar signs in his eyes imaging all the money he'll be selling it for. But yeah, in truth, it's hard to put a guess at value without seeing the instrument... it could cost more to fix it up than someone would be willing to buy it for.

[Dirge]

Pete, where do you cross reference the model numbers? I know about the ledgers, it's finding what a model 3 precisely is that I can't do.

[Pete Dunk]

Look through the Wheatstone Price Lists. Not all models appear on all lists and the specs change here and there so try and pick a year somewhere close to the instrument in question.

[Dirge]

Thanks. Should have thought of it.