1938 Martin Price Check

[darkone15]

what would you say a 1938 Martin guitar is worth. I friend of mine jsut told me she got one from here grandfather when he passed. She asked me to ry and learn about it.

 

she wont sell it, she is just wondering what it is worth, i havetn seen it but i think its in fair to good condition.

[darkone15]

no i dont have access to it could you just give me a ballpark, I'm pretty sure its in good condition.

[darkone15]

Im asking her to send me a pic ill see if she can.

[Freeman Keller]

The model and condition makes a huge difference. Prewar herringbone D-28' and nice D-18's can sell for 5 figures, rare models can bring 6. A beat up 00-17 might be worth a few hundred.

 

When you do get some information (including the serial number, leave out the last two 12345xx) then ask your question at the Vintage subforum of UMGF - these folks know their old Marties

[darkone15]

ok thanks, where would the serial # be located?

[darkone15]

Here is a pic its kinda blurry tho

 

[iago]

Looks like a D28.

 

I'll give you $10 and a pack of strings for it. Maybe even two packs if you ask me nicely.

[totamus]

Cha-Ching!!!

[guitarist21]

 

Here is a pic its kinda blurry tho

 

 

More pics? That's not really a very helpful view as it is half in a case and you can't really see the top too well because it's at an angle. Maybe a pic of the headstock too, and the body?

 

Sorry, I don't mean to be picky, but its hard to ID the guitar from that pic alone.

 

Ellen

[guitarcapo]

too hard to guess from the crappy picture. I'd venture to guess 20 grand or so.

[moctzal]

It really depends on condition and the model.

The model number and more pics are needed to figure that out.

Go to www.elderly.com or www.gruhn.com to see what vintage Martins are selling for.

[Samilyn]

Definitely need a serial number here. It's possible the PG might have been replaced somewhere along the way, and perhaps the bridge also?

 

If there's no sticker inside or anything stamped on the headstock, maybe ID on the neck block inside? I'm not up to speed on pre-war Martins, so not sure where to look.

 

And if it does prove to be a pre-war model, but with a few "more recent" replacement parts, I don't know how that might affect its value.

 

I'm intrigued by this one. Will be very interesting to find out if your friend just scored huge with this Martin. Of course, the sentimental value is priceless, being as it belonged to her grandpa. (I've got my grandpa's '60s spinet piano and wouldn't part with it for a gazillion bucks -- I can still hear him playing in my mind....sigh.....)

[Etienne Rambert]

Even with the bad photo, it seems to radiate that mystical pre-war Martin aura.

 

I notice the binding. Pre-War Martins had genuine Ivoroid bindings.

Even with the fuzzy picture, the binding looks like real Ivoroid to me.

 

That being the case, it's probably worth fifty or a hundred thousand dollars.

 

Good luck whether your friend decides to sell it or stash it away.

It was nice of the lady to die and leave it to a friend of yours.

[totamus]

more pics are definitely needed. I also am having some suspicions - The binding, nut, saddle, and pegs are all bright white, like a new guitar. My martin is only 25 years old, but they have all turned more of an ivory, leaning towards the yellowish.

[d28andm1911a1]

If it's a good condition D-28 (which it looks like) then it should go for $10-20k

[missedmyexit]

Definitely need more pics.. Are you sure about the year? The pickguard looks like it was replaced with a custom one (Shouldn't affect the value at all). The Binding is a little questionable. It does look very white for a 60+ year old guitar.

 

Instead of Pics you can just ask her to look inside the sound hole for a model number and the first 4 of the serial number.

[Freeman Keller]

The pics are blocked on my work computer, but the serial number and model should be stamped on the neck block inside the guitar. With the first four numbers of the s/n you can positively date the guitar and usually Martin can tell you some more information about it. If her grandfather was the original owner there is a possibility that the warranty could be transfered which woul be huge if the git needs any work.

 

Several people have mentioned seeing "irregularities" - in general changes from original reduce the value (refinishing can reduce it by 50 percent), but normal repairs, particularly a neck reset can actually increase the value. A repaired or mod'ed guitar is still valuable to a player, but a pristine original one is coveted by collectors.

 

Once you confirm the model and exact date it would be worthwhile to take it to someone who really knows old Martins and can appraise it - if for no other reason the insurance coverage. Keep us posted - the "old Martin under the bed" story is almost too good to be true (the 58 corvette in a barn with 100 miles on the odo...)

[guitarcapo]

Something screams REISSUE to me.

[DonK]

Elderly had a 1938 D-28 featured on the cover of their vintage catalog a few years ago; it came to them in a weird way, but the bottom line is they appraised it at $45K, and it was in fairly rough shape cosmetically (though fine structurally).

 

A guy bought at a yard sale for $5 bucks in the 70's as a beater, with the intention of learning to play. A week later he caught his hand in a car door, and by the time he recovered he'd abandoned the idea of taking up guitar. It sat in a closet in his house - with no case - for the next 30 years, until he retired and once again started thinking about learning to play. He was going to paint it green to make it more presentable, but first showed it to a friend to ask his advice. The friend said that while he didn't know much about guitars, he'd heard older Martins "might be worth something". The guy took it to Elderly and got the shock of his life. Elderly and Gruhn would be good places to get an appraisal.

[Samilyn]

 

Elderly had a 1938 D-28 featured on the cover of their vintage catalog a few years ago; it came to them in a weird way, but the bottom line is they appraised it at $45K, and it was in fairly rough shape cosmetically (though fine structurally). A guy bought at a yard sale for $5 bucks in the 70's as a beater, with the intention of learning to play. A week later he caught his hand in a car door, and by the time he recovered he'd abandoned the idea of taking up guitar. It sat in a closet in his house - with no case - for the next 30 years, until he retired and once again started thinking about learning to play. He was going to paint it green to make it more presentable, but first showed it to a friend to ask his advice. The friend said that while he didn't know much about guitars, he'd heard older Martins "might be worth something". The guy took it to Elderly and got the shock of his life. Elderly and Gruhn would be good places to get an appraisal.

 

 

WOW. If something like that happened to me, I would not live to enjoy either the Martin or the $$. I would have heart failure on the spot.

[totamus]

These old Martins do pop up. A friend of is a delivery man for a major delivery service and saw a guitar case at the curb of a home he was delivering to (with the trash). He needed a guitar case and asked if he could have it. The resident said yes, so he threw it in his truck. He could tell something was in it but didnt look at until later that day when he got home. It was a 1930s Martin Archtop guitar. This is not an urban legend, I saw the guitar and the person it happened to is a good friend.

 

He had it appraised by Elderly, then traded to a regional music store for some cash and several new instruments.

 

So they do pop up. I am still waiting to see more pics on this one though.