Jayyj Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 This is an interesting one - someone selling a stripped 1965 Casino for more than I would expect to pay for a good original condition example. My first thought was, you're kidding, right? But thinking about it, if it's an example from the same year as Lennon's, with the finish stripped round about the same time that Lennon stripped his, does the context give it a value that defies the usual rules with vintage instruments? I'm not a huge Lennon fan, and already have a '65 ES-330, so I don't have a horse in this race, but I'm curious: so, what do we think? Rare opportunity or refin that's shooting for the moon? Here's the auction: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EPIPHONE-CASINO-1965-282976-lennon-finish-/111209441653?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item19e4996975 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny_2_owls Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 It's a nice guitar but not original at the end of the day. I've looked at some of the seller previous auctions and they're asking £1200 for a Korean casino with upgraded pickups and parts etc...as you said "shooting for the moon"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayyj Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 £1200?! What was it upgraded with, diamonds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iommysg Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 holy hell its up for £4000 really?!?!? you could by a normal casino and have change for a stack!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 £4000 is the buy-it-now price placed on the item by the ebay seller. Had the guitar not been modified, I don't think £4000 would be unrealistic. Here is a 1963 Casino being sold by a vintage guitar dealer in London. The asking price is £4350. Link: http://www.vintageguitarboutique.com/guitars/epiphone-casino A little more research shows that even in the U.S., where dealers' prices tend to be a little lower, the least desirable (to a collector) vintage Casino - the one pick-up model - will still set you back the best part of $3000 in decent condition. For example: http://reverb.com/item/40907-epiphone-casino-1965-sunburst?utm_medium=GPLA&utm_source=SEM&gclid=CNDPga7fm7sCFSEV7AodP3kANQ As regards the OP's question - does the refinishing à la John Lennon add to the value of this guitar? No. Vintage guitar collectors are no different to any other type of collector, whether antiquarian book collectors, vintage car collectors, or whomever. There is a very strong correlation between originality and value. Whatever the merits or demerits of sanding the tops of guitars like John Lennon and Mick Ronson chose to do (personally, with all due respect, I think it was just a fad - it's not like those guitars had a thick, modern, gloopy poly finish), instruments of a similar vintage that have been modified similarly will have been devalued by the process (in terms of today's collectors' market, at least). By the way, kudos to the seller of this guitar. It takes a sense of humour to be a musical instrument dealer with the username: cowboymod vintage guitars! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 At that price, I would expect to see the black switch ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinlander Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 In my opinion that is called a mod and thus should ruin the value an original unmodded would have. It is free market so if the demand from fanboys is high then the sellers will surf the hype wave ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayyj Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 I sold a '65 Casino a couple of years ago for £2900, an early '65 with the wide headstock, a not too slim neck size and a couple of minor issues. I might have put it up to £3500 without the issues. I guess I wouldn't be surprised to see £4000 on a nice original example from somewhere like Vintage & Rare. I know the single pickup ones get listed around the $3000 mark on Gbase but I'm a little skeptical if people are actually paying that for them - pretty sure Elderly had one last year for $2200 that took a while to sell. There's a beautifully figured Blonde 1960 ES-330T on Gbase at the moment for a little over $5K that has my mouth watering, single pickup or not. I guess the thing with this guitar is it only takes one hardcore fan who doesn't care about the cost and he has a sale. But looks like a pretty unanimous vote so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I'd say it's worth more than the Lennon 1965 reissues but less than one in original condition so in my book that's about £2000-£2500. This seller has a tendency to list stuff with crazy prices... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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