Hello all

[Tracksoup]

My name is Jim. I’m sorry to bother you fine folks. I am more of a guitar and mandolin player than accordion but I have come across a vintage accordion that I am trying to sell for a friend. Her mom passed away this summer and we found her accordion from high school buried in the back of a closet. It is a vintage piano accordion from the 50’s/60’s made in Italy. It’s in excellent condition and comes with hard case and a lot of vintage music from the era. I would like to sell to someone who can appreciate such a beautiful instrument but have had no luck locally. I was hoping that I might get some information on how to go about this from talented folks such as yourselves who dabble in the world of accordions. Thank you

 

[Siegmund]

I never imagined I'd see someone from Marion post on here.

We are almost neighbors -- we have a shocking number of accordionists lurking in the woods between Trego, Fortine, and Eureka. The ones of my immediate acquaintance play button accordion rather than piano accordion, but we have people of both persuasions. I may well be able to point you toward someone who could assess it, let you know what repairing or tuning it may need, and possibly know of a budding piano accordionist who is in the market.

That said... do not get your hopes up for a big-$$$ sale. Even in top condition, student instruments from less-famous brands do not bring much money (and instruments that have sat in a closet for 50 years rarely are in top condition.) You may well have more people interested in the case and the sheet music than in the instrument.

 

[Dingo40]

Welcome, Jim .
An interesting " barnfind" in good cosmetic condition.
It could be of interest to "antiquarians " who like older times stuff, at a bargain price, or someone wanting to learn to play, without spending too much getting started... and it's all there!
We have some members in that category! Although your pictures are good, a really clear, close up shot of the four rectangular black levers by the grill would be very helpful, if possible.
Regarding price: it's really a buyer's market. The price really comes down to what an interested party is prepared to pay and the seller willing to take.
As Siegmund has indicated, the "internals" being of wood, cardboard, wax, felt and leather (and rust-prone carbon steel) are somewhat subject to ageing, insect attack and rust, and may well need some attention, not as readily available nowadays as in earlier times

 

[Ventura]

if that closet was on the first floor of the house,
never subjected to any temperature extremes
or dampness, then it is possible for it to still
be in very good condition and playable right out of the box

kind of like being n a stasis pod.. time stands still..

the music is a valuable asset,, that thick green book is a classic
and very desirable

though it is a student model and (off) brand, it was
made by a decent builder, and likely has nice sounding reeds

as Dingo said, a pic of the 4 levers will give a better clue, but
the fact it has 4 shifts inclines me to say it was built late 1950's

i do suggest that if the accordion is ever opened in your presence for inspection
that you magic marker the womans name inside on a bare
part of the wood, along with the date(s) of her ownership of the instrument

 

[JeffJetton]

You may well have more people interested in the case and the sheet music than in the instrument.

Yeah, that collection of Oahu arrangements is pretty impressive. They're not super-rare or anything... I've just never seen so many in one place!

 

[Tracksoup]

Wow!! This some great stuff and very much appreciated! I love the music that comes out of these but I don’t know anything about them or their makeup. Here is a better picture of those 4 levers I think you’re talking about.

 

[Ventura]

ahh.. unfortunately that means it has 2 reeds for the piano keys
(two harmonica's mounted inside, basically) one low octave one middle

so it is a very beginners accordion with a limited range of tones..
a couple few hundred $$ - but as clean as it looks someone will
really like it and buy it easily i think

 

[Tom]

I would buy it.

 

[Dingo40]

OK, Jim, thanks: nice shot!
As Ventura has already indicated, it is a two-voiced instrument.
This simply means it's basic: no frills.
All the same, it can still be quite appealing and, being uncomplicated and relatively light weight, ideal for a beginner or a busker !
Many two voiced instruments have an excellent sound, are pleasant to play and, like a Volkswagen Beetle, easy to maintain.

 

[Tracksoup]

I would buy it.

Well Tom, it is for sale. I sent pictures in for an appraisal and they said the particular model was gone for 6 to 800 and that condition at auction. I realize auction is completely different than buying out right. I was also told that the music was worth $10-$15 apiece. Are you interested in the whole lot? And if you are, how much are you thinking? I my friend had to fly here from Australia to take care of all her mom’s things and her bills so I am just trying to sell it for her to help cover some of the balance but I want to be fair.

 

[Tracksoup]

This accordion was kept for the last 40 years in a closet that was centralized in the house and stayed pretty constant on temps. There were a lot of other things in the closet that were delicate in nature and nothing seem to have been bothered by moisture or anything.

 

[Tracksoup]

T

OK, Jim, thanks: nice shot!
As Ventura has already indicated, it is a two-voiced instrument.
This simply means it's basic: no frills.
All the same, it can still be quite appealing and, being uncomplicated and relatively light weight, ideal for a beginner or a busker !
Many two voiced instruments have an excellent sound, are pleasant to play and, like a Volkswagen Beetle, easy to maintain.

Thanks Dingo. It’s a beautiful instrument! It might need a little TLC from sitting so long but maybe it will make a great starter kit for someone.

 

[Tracksoup]

It’s funny because my friend and I grew up together and went to our little 1 room school house in Pleasant Valley together but neither one of us can ever recall her mom playing it! She was just as surprised as I was to find it in her moms closet. Lol

 

[Tom]

Well Tom, it is for sale. I sent pictures in for an appraisal and they said the particular model was gone for 6 to 800 and that condition at auction. I realize auction is completely different than buying out right. I was also told that the music was worth $10-$15 apiece. Are you interested in the whole lot? And if you are, how much are you thinking? I my friend had to fly here from Australia to take care of all her mom’s things and her bills so I am just trying to sell it for her to help cover some of the balance but I want to be fair.

Hi Jim, I would offer $200 if all seems well internally, just because it is so pretty. I'm sorry, I'm not interested in the music. As mentioned, you can probably do better selling it all together. Where are you located?

 

[Tracksoup]

Hi Jim, I would offer $200 if all seems well internally, just because it is so pretty. I'm sorry, I'm not interested in the music. As mentioned, you can probably do better selling it all together. Where are you located?

I’m in Marion, Montana. You are the first person I’ve had interested but I would like to hold off a bit to see if I can sell the whole lot as a unit. But if something doesn’t come up soon I’ll let you know. I do thank you

 

[Siegmund]

Your appraiser was a bit optimistic with his estimates. One wonders if he was hoping for a percentage of the sale price I think there's a good chance you could sell the music as a set to one person and the instrument to another. I may well be interested in the sheet music (but not at $10 apiece for 8-page pamphlets with 1 or 2 songs in them - that's more a price of a book.) If there's a day later in the spring we both plan to be in Libby or Kalispell, could take a look.

 

[JeffJetton]

Your appraiser was a bit optimistic with his estimates. One wonders if he was hoping for a percentage of the sale price I think there's a good chance you could sell the music as a set to one person and the instrument to another. I may well be interested in the sheet music (but not at $10 apiece for 8-page pamphlets with 1 or 2 songs in them - that's more a price of a book.) If there's a day later in the spring we both plan to be in Libby or Kalispell, could take a look.

I just did a quick ebay search for "completed auctions" for Oahu sheet music. Prices varied, but nowhere near $10 a pop:

• 10 for $10 ($2 each)
• 25 for $10 (40 cents each)
• 50 for $30 (60 cents each)
• 26 for $24 (92 cents each)

 

[JerryPH]

Well Tom, it is for sale. I sent pictures in for an appraisal and they said the particular model was gone for 6 to 800 and that condition at auction. I realize auction is completely different than buying out right. I was also told that the music was worth $10-$15 apiece. Are you interested in the whole lot? And if you are, how much are you thinking? I my friend had to fly here from Australia to take care of all her mom’s things and her bills so I am just trying to sell it for her to help cover some of the balance but I want to be fair.

I wonder if that auction house saw the accordion on the inside, looked at the condition of the reeds and valves? Did they play it and test the tuning? Like a car, the value of an accordion is not in how it looks but how it performs. Unfortunately accordions kind of slowly disintegrate over time without regular maintenance.

Accordions go out of tune over time, valves dry out and curl away and if not stored properly can accumulate mold inside. Accordions need to be played regularly, and fewer things can harm an accordion more than long term storage.

Easily 1 or more of these conditions could push the cost of repair to more than what the accordion is valued at. I would say that for this instrument if it was in "as new" condition, it may pull $400-$500 on the current general market, however most accordions are not in perfect condition (irrespective of how good they look outside).

That said, if you find the right person, the value of that accordion could be whatever that person wishes to pay which could be in the range they suggest. Accordionists are generally a sentimental lot... lol

 

[Tracksoup]

I wonder if that auction house saw the accordion on the inside, looked at the condition of the reeds and valves? Did they play it and test the tuning? Like a car, the value of an accordion is not in how it looks but how it performs. Unfortunately accordions kind of slowly disintegrate over time without regular maintenance.

Accordions go out of tune over time, valves dry out and curl away and if not stored properly can accumulate mold inside. Accordions need to be played regularly, and fewer things can harm an accordion more than long term storage.

Easily 1 or more of these conditions could push the cost of repair to more than what the accordion is valued at. I would say that for this instrument if it was in "as new" condition, it may pull $400-$500 on the current general market, however most accordions are not in perfect condition (irrespective of how good they look outside).

That said, if you find the right person, the value of that accordion could be whatever that person wishes to pay which could be in the range they suggest. Accordionists are generally a sentimental lot... lol

Lol. I agreed with you there. My stepbrother’s dad was part of the old Time fiddlers club of Kalispell in Columbia Falls area years ago. They had their share of accordion players, and they were exactly that. I did take this accordion out here the other day just to see if it made noise and it actually sounds really good. not saying it doesn’t need tune because I’m no piano player or accordion player so I was just holding keys down and squeezing in and out on the box but the tunes it portrayed sounded pretty nice. But no the appraiser only had pictures of it to go off of and really didn’t ask a lot of questions . It was more or less just kind of to give me an idea of what something like that would be worth, but I know the value of it is only going to be determined by the person who really wants it. Same thing with the sheet music. I know that people are selling a few sheets here and there on eBay and not getting a lot for them, but nothing is near close to the collection that I have of 74+ a few extra books with more than eight pages. I am sure not trying to get rich off of this by any means. I’m just trying to help a friend out the best I can. So I have figured if somebody who is sentimental about their accordions, had an interest in it might be able to make a deal on the whole works. But we’ll see how it goes.

 

[Tracksoup]

New development on the accordion!! My friend was going through her moms papers and found the warranty on it. It shows when and where she bought it and the serial number. I also looked up how to play it so I could some what check it out without hurting it. All the piano keys and bass buttons work a sounded great for the most part. It sounded like a couple of the piano keys need tuned but still had great sound.