1920's Martin value

Skinny Money McGee

Skinny Money McGee

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Early 1K..someone may get a very good deal here if the bidding stays low. Looks in excellent condition, too.
 
Folks tend to bid at the last second on Martins. A very fancy Martin-made Wurlitzer soprano sold today on Ebay. The bid was around $2000.00 with an hour to go. It sold for over $4,800.00.
 
Yes all the smart and experience bidders wait till the last minuete so the prices don't inflate prematurely....but then goes sky high in the last hour, well may thee last 15 minuetes
 
Lots of discussion of that Wurlitzer/Martin uke over on UMGF..an extremely rare variation of a 3K, mix-up of 3K & 5K appointments.Seriously rare instrument, maybe only 3 known examples..beautiful to behold, but that sorta $$ is way beyond me !

Hope someone here scores that 1K for a decent price, to my eye it's just as pretty, albiet not as rare, but looks ready to go with no cracks or finish issues that I can see. Good Luck if anyone here is bidding !!
Best,
Jeff.
 
mm stan said:
Yes all the smart and experience bidders wait till the last minuete so the prices don't inflate prematurely....but then goes sky high in the last hour, well may thee last 15 minuetes
Click to expand...

Your right Stan, much of the time the heavy bidding is in the last 30 seconds. Will be interesting to watch this today. 5 hours left, 12 bidders placing 17 bids @ $560.00. Although vintage instruments aren't my personal interest, it sure is nice to see these being rescued on a daily basis. It's also nice to see the interest isn't waning yet.

This one seems to be a particularly good barometer since it's a fairly common uke in apparently excellent shape, and that it started at 25 dollars. Something is only worth what one is willing to pay.
 
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Too bad y'all have discovered this uke <G>. Not to pick specks out of gnat poop, but I wouldn't call a 1K from this era "fairly common". I've watched ebay for these ukes for the last several years and they rarely come up. Now a 1M, that's a different matter <g>. Now I do hate it when folks get picayune about posts here but occasionally I fall prey to it too. On second thought, since I'm bidding, let me revise my statement - they're common as mushrooms after several days of rain. cheers, g2
 
garyg said:
Too bad y'all have discovered this uke <G>. Not to pick specks out of gnat poop, but I wouldn't call a 1K from this era "fairly common". I've watched ebay for these ukes for the last several years and they rarely come up. Now a 1M, that's a different matter <g>. Now I do hate it when folks get picayune about posts here but occasionally I fall prey to it too. On second thought, since I'm bidding, let me revise my statement - they're common as mushrooms after several days of rain. cheers, g2
Click to expand...

They only made them for 20 years, but you can call it rare if you want. We will still see what it's worth, which is what the original post was about.
 
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$787.00 15 different bidders. Maybe the market isn't necessarily down, just leveling out from the frenzied high.

Either way, someone got a nice uke. Hopefully it was gary..
 
I also hope Gary got it. It is a very good price and Gary does have a penchant for style 1. I have one of the same period. Fantastic ukulele.
 
Skinny Money McGee said:
They only made them for 20 years, but you can call it rare if you want. We will still see what it's worth, which is what the original post was about.
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Yes, they only made them for 20 years or so, but they made WAAAAAAY fewer 1Ks than they did 1Ms. The koa versions of any of the Martins are pretty rare.
 
I can't believe somebody paid so much for a stinky old uke with a quarter stuck to one of the frets when they could've had a brand new KoAloha or Kamaka for about the same money... :biglaugh:

John
 
David Newton said:
What did I say?
The market is down.
Click to expand...

It had plenty of bidders. The price is the only thing down in the current market. There's plenty of people willing to buy them, just not at the price most people are asking. Which is why I thought, with this one, at a starting price of basically nothing, we would see what it was worth, not what someone or some appraisal book thinks it is worth.


I'm sure it went to a good home which is the important part.
 
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Thanks for the thoughts guys, I've already got a pre-1920 1K so I was just bargain hunting. Only bid to mid-$700s but obviously there were others who bid higher. I think that it's a great deal if it has good sound. I did post a youtube video a few weeks ago with a sound comparison of three pre-20's 1M and a 1K from the same vintage if anyone is interested. It was titled something like Martin 1m sound comparison if anyone is interested. Vintage Martin's have a specialized audience but once you get the bug you'll never go back. Happy hunting. g2
 
OldePhart said:
I can't believe somebody paid so much for a stinky old uke with a quarter stuck to one of the frets when they could've had a brand new KoAloha or Kamaka for about the same money... :biglaugh:

John
Click to expand...


Once again, you made me laugh John, except I was expecting you to say "when you can buy 10 Flukes" <g>. g2
 
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