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Selling price Hohner Morino VM

Geert

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Dear members of the forum, I have no knowledge about accordions, but I have one in my possession from an inheritance that I would like to sell to a dealer in the Netherlands. However, I have no idea what price I can ask for it. It is a Hohner Morino VM, probably from the late last century. Judging by the case, I think it's from around the 1970s. Do you have any idea what the value could be if I sell it to a specialized dealer or if I sell it to a private individual? Thank you in advance for your thoughts!
 

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HI Geert
Welcome to the forum and greetings to Holland.
I don't want to give an estimation on potential sales price as w/o touching, playing, and inspecting (in particular the inside) such instrument a serious guesstimate isn't reasonable. It has been built at least 60 if not 70 years ago - quite a lifespan which may have left some lines on its face (and reeds !). Would be the same on our faces wouldn't it?
On the other hand there are aficionados who particular are after the "M-series" as it's said it has an unmatched sound, never reached by later versions of Hohner's famous Morino line. It's been built in the heydays of the (Hohner) accordion era - good chance that at least it got some aura of its builder and patron saint Venanzio Morino.
If you scroll through offers on the usual online auction platforms or google for dealers you get at least an idea what kind of price range such instrument may reach.
In any case I recommend to display it to a dealer who may have a customer particularly searching such instrument.
Ideally you get a verdict from a nearby accordion-player who will carefully grab and test it.

I'm almost sure that later Paul de Bra who's the top expert on this forum will chime in and can help you with more details.
Paul coincidently is Dutch - he knows the onsite market and for sure is the best starting point to get more details about your instrument.
 
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HI Geert
Welcome to the forum and greetings to Holland.
I don't want to give an estimation on potential sales price as w/o touching, playing, and inspecting (in particular the inside) such instrument a serious guesstimate isn't reasonable. It has been built at least 60 if not 70 years ago - quite a lifespan which may have left some lines on its face (and reeds !). Would be the same on our faces wouldn't it?
On the other hand there are aficionados who particular are after the "M-series" as it's said it has an unmatched sound, never reached by later versions of Hohner's famous Morino line. It's been built in the heydays of the (Hohner) accordion era - good chance that at least it got some aura of its builder and patron saint Venanzio Morino.
If you scroll through offers on the usual online auction platforms or google for dealers you get at least an idea what kind of price range such instrument may reach.
In any case I recommend to display it to a dealer who may have a customer particularly searching such instrument.
Ideally you get a verdict from a nearby accordion-player who will carefully grab and test it.

I'm almost sure that later Paul de Bra who's the top expert on this forum will chime in and can help you with more details.
Paul coincidently is Dutch - he knows the onsite market and for sure is the best starting point to get more details about your instrument.
Thank you so much PhiliGol, for the very helpful information!
 
Dear members of the forum, I have no knowledge about accordions, but I have one in my possession from an inheritance that I would like to sell to a dealer in the Netherlands. However, I have no idea what price I can ask for it. It is a Hohner Morino VM, probably from the late last century. Judging by the case, I think it's from around the 1970s. Do you have any idea what the value could be if I sell it to a specialized dealer or if I sell it to a private individual? Thank you in advance for your thoughts!
hi. geert i have had morinos for around 50 odd years and still have 3 vm and 3 iv m models in all the 4 colours that they were made in. the model you are showing was made from 1958 till around1965.
the morino m models started in 1948 although a proto type apeared in 1930s . early models had either 123 bass buttons on a morino ivm or 127 if it was a morino vm. in 1958 both models were made with 120 bass only which your model has.
if you could print the serial no this is 6 numbers on the back beside the lower strap backet it would help
the value i n the uk would be around £2 500 depending on condition

thank you ian.
 
hi. geert i have had morinos for around 50 odd years and still have 3 vm and 3 iv m models in all the 4 colours that they were made in. the model you are showing was made from 1958 till around1965.
the morino m models started in 1948 although a proto type apeared in 1930s . early models had either 123 bass buttons on a morino ivm or 127 if it was a morino vm. in 1958 both models were made with 120 bass only which your model has.
if you could print the serial no this is 6 numbers on the back beside the lower strap backet it would help
the value i n the uk would be around £2 500 depending on condition

thank you ian.
Thank you very much Ian! Very interesting information. I found the serial number, it is 302436.
 
Dear members of the forum, I have no knowledge about accordions, but I have one in my possession from an inheritance that I would like to sell to a dealer in the Netherlands. However, I have no idea what price I can ask for it. It is a Hohner Morino VM, probably from the late last century. Judging by the case, I think it's from around the 1970s. Do you have any idea what the value could be if I sell it to a specialized dealer or if I sell it to a private individual? Thank you in advance for your thoughts!
Hi Geert,
(Using English here because that's the forum's language.)
The Hohner Morino M series was built until around 1960 when Hohner stopped making the Morino and Excelsior took over, to make first the Morino N series and later he Morino S series. So your accordion is likely between 65 and 70 years old. If you were to look inside and know about accordions you could check whether it has Hohner Artiste reeds or Bugari tipo a mano reeds. The first are the older accordions, the ones with Bugari reeds are generally preferred and are younger. Both are pretty good, but when you go to sell the accordion it is rated higher when it has Bugari reeds than when it has Hohner reeds.
Such a Morino from the M series generally goes for somewhere around 2500 euro minus the cost to fix everything that's wrong with it (which is likely considerable unless the accordion was regularly maintained and tuned, something which is unlikely, especially in the Netherlands).
However improbably this may seem, a Hohner Morino IV M is easier to sell than a V M because it is more compact and lighter.
When you try to sell the Morino to an accordion dealer you won't get a lot for it. Better is to post it on "marktplaats.nl" and be patient for the right buyer to come along. With an accordion this old people will want to have a look inside, to check for instance whether the reeds are in good condition and not heavily rusted (which happens especially when the owner lives/lived near the coast). This accordion has no bellow pins, typically used to open it up. You need to unlock the bellows with the knob on the grille, then remove the grille, then turn the two levers in the front, and then the treble side kinda rotates off.
 
Hi Geert,
(Using English here because that's the forum's language.)
The Hohner Morino M series was built until around 1960 when Hohner stopped making the Morino and Excelsior took over, to make first the Morino N series and later he Morino S series. So your accordion is likely between 65 and 70 years old. If you were to look inside and know about accordions you could check whether it has Hohner Artiste reeds or Bugari tipo a mano reeds. The first are the older accordions, the ones with Bugari reeds are generally preferred and are younger. Both are pretty good, but when you go to sell the accordion it is rated higher when it has Bugari reeds than when it has Hohner reeds.
Such a Morino from the M series generally goes for somewhere around 2500 euro minus the cost to fix everything that's wrong with it (which is likely considerable unless the accordion was regularly maintained and tuned, something which is unlikely, especially in the Netherlands).
However improbably this may seem, a Hohner Morino IV M is easier to sell than a V M because it is more compact and lighter.
When you try to sell the Morino to an accordion dealer you won't get a lot for it. Better is to post it on "marktplaats.nl" and be patient for the right buyer to come along. With an accordion this old people will want to have a look inside, to check for instance whether the reeds are in good condition and not heavily rusted (which happens especially when the owner lives/lived near the coast). This accordion has no bellow pins, typically used to open it up. You need to unlock the bellows with the knob on the grille, then remove the grille, then turn the two levers in the front, and then the treble side kinda rotates off.
Thanks for your response Paul! I really appreciate the help I got from you, PhiliGol and morino master. I decided to follow your advice and sell it on the site you mentioned and be patient. We inherited the accordion from my father-in-law and do not use it ourselves, although I am a musician (pianist) myself. So I recognize and appreciate the love you all have for (old) instruments. Best regards!
 
Maybe nice to share: the accordion was sold today for approximately the amount you mentioned as a guideline. It was purchased by a German former employee of Hohner, who will completely refurbish the instrument. He had access to Hohner's original archives and was able to tell hat this instrument went from the factory to the Netherlands in 1963. Happy with this sale, thanks again for your advice!
 
I don't mean to hijack your thread (that now seems concluded), but interestingly I got to working on one of these this weekend. Beautiful sounding instrument, I think I finally understand the appeal of reeds in the casotto. Although on the whole the instrument is way too large for me to wield in doing what I do.

Curious, the customer tells me this one was built by Excelsior/Hohner. This seems to conflict with information here - the Hohner 'list' here has these manufactured up until 1970. I suppose there is a lot of room for overlap and of course not all records are exact. It is a 120.

At issue in this one was one of the musette blocks was loose. I was surprised to find out the latching mechanism being a simple angled pin not really held in place with anything other than positioning. I simply pushed the pin back but can't help wonder if it will come loose again, easily enough. Were these a problem?

Also, what kind of reeds are these?
 

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I don't mean to hijack your thread (that now seems concluded), but interestingly I got to working on one of these this weekend. ...
The Hohner Morino M series was definitely built by Hohner and not by Excelsior. It can be recognized by the "domino" style register switches. The first generation built by Excelsior was the Morino N series. Any Morino made in 1970 must be an Excelsior-made Morino N that has the off-white oval register switches. When someone bought an accordion from a dealer in 1970 that doesn't say what year the accordion was made in...
As for the reeds in the picture, these are definitely Italian reeds. Hohner first made the Morino M series with Hohner reeds (Artiste reeds on the treble side but lesser quality reeds for the bass.) Later they changed over to Bugari tipo a mano reeds. (Bugari the reed maker, not the accordion maker.) So the reeds in the picture should be Bugari reeds.
 
The Hohner Morino M series was definitely built by Hohner and not by Excelsior. It can be recognized by the "domino" style register switches. The first generation built by Excelsior was the Morino N series. Any Morino made in 1970 must be an Excelsior-made Morino N that has the off-white oval register switches. When someone bought an accordion from a dealer in 1970 that doesn't say what year the accordion was made in...
As for the reeds in the picture, these are definitely Italian reeds. Hohner first made the Morino M series with Hohner reeds (Artiste reeds on the treble side but lesser quality reeds for the bass.) Later they changed over to Bugari tipo a mano reeds. (Bugari the reed maker, not the accordion maker.) So the reeds in the picture should be Bugari reeds.
Thanks Paul!

This accordion is the same as in this post - domino switches, so must not have an Excelsior lineage. The reeds are the same in both treble and bass sections so the reasoning there (Bugari) also makes sense.

The picture shows the securing pins...has anybody had an issue with these coming loose easily? Call me paranoid but I'm not entirely sold on the design of these, I would have thought something more than a pressure fit would be apt for such a pristine instrument.
 

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The picture shows the securing pins...has anybody had an issue with these coming loose easily? Call me paranoid but I'm not entirely sold on the design of these, I would have thought something more than a pressure fit would be apt for such a pristine instrument.
I have worked on a few of these that had no issue with the securing pins coming loose by themselves (while playing).
But I also remember working on one that had a safety mechanism. Sadly I did not take a picture of it at the time. Basically it had a short flat spring, held in place on one end with a screw, so you could rotate it away to open and when the pin was all the way in you turned the spring back and it prevented the pin from coming out. The material of the spring was a bit like that used in many accordions as a spring to prevent register sliders from shifting by themselves (under the force of gravity).
 
The picture shows the securing pins...has anybody had an issue with these coming loose easily? Call me paranoid but I'm not entirely sold on the design of these, I would have thought something more than a pressure fit would be apt for such a pristine instrument.
I use a bit of tape to keep these in place on my Morino. Probably unnecessary, but I had the same thought as you.
 
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Thanks for the responses, I will do a little 'engineering' to ensure this particular pin doesn't come loose again.!
 
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