Vintage Gibson Appraisals?

[Mike@Hiram]

I'm wondering what is the best way to find the value of my Dad's old Gibson acoustic guitar?

 

I think it is from 1935. The serial number on the inside stamped on the neck joint is 283A. He bought it sometime around then and as I recall, paid $25 for it.

 

It's in pretty good shape for being so old and considering that my Dad played it a lot. He was an excellent player.

 

Do I need to take it to someone for evaluation or can an estimate be done online with photos? I don't plan to part with it, but was curious as to its value.

[JimR56]

Hi Mike,

 

There are folks here who can give you a pretty good idea of its value. We would first need to know what model it is, and what condition it's in. Photos would help, if you were able to upload a few.

 

You can also easily get an idea of value by looking at completed ebay auctions for similar instruments; and you can check what dealers are charging by looking at a site like gbase (https://www.gbase.com/gear).

 

If you wanted a more formal appraisal, you could take it to a reputable vintage shop or send photos to someone like George Gruhn (http://guitars.com). You would of course be charged a fee for that.

[Jens von Bust]

Hi Mike,

 

Have you tried Blue Book of Guitar Value?

 

It's been quoted at gibson.com

 

You have to pay $3 or so for the information, but it might come in handy.

 

Best of luck

[j45nick]

That factory order number says 1935.

 

Post at least two pictures here--full front, and full back--and we'll try to help you. You can probably post two photos here directly. Otherwise, use a photo hosting service like Photobucket, which many of us here use, to upload photos more efficiently, with no real limit on file size and number of photos you can post.