New(to me) uke's

tbar24

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Hi folks,
I made a pretty big purchase today and one that I think was a good investment. I bought 5 uke's for $500. I am pretty sure they are worth a lot more, but I want to make sure I am not a victim to my own confirmation bias.

#1- Harmony d-tune 'school model'
very good body shop, no major scratches or cracks, 1960's
#2-silvertone mahagony, sunburst type finish 1960's ish, body is worn and fairly scratched, nothing structural. Still Very playable
#3 unidentified banjolele- skin says F.R. Clarke, but I am not sure if that is the uke brand or just the skin. looks to be a maple body and neck. good condition

now for the good ones(I think)
#4 kamaka pineapple soprano. Front is in good condition as well as the neck, the back had two cracks that have been repaired, my guess puts it around 1950-1960
#5-this is the one I am unsure about- Jonah Kumalae soprano. i think it to be made between 1915-1922, as it has 1719 liliha st. and it has three small rings around the sound hole, so i believe it is model a (1) has a fairly large crack on the front, but is still playable, back and sides are solid, but the back is 'bowing' a bit. This is the only one i am contemplating selling, just because it needs some work i cant afford and i think it deserves to be played.

I took a whole bunch of Pictures of all of them, but i don't want to upload them all here. I put them all up at this link ( i hope it works-also, sorry label pics are upside down!)http://s427.photobucket.com/user/tbar24/library/Ukulele?sort=3&page=1

So, now two questions.
What would you recommend for strings for the banjolele?
and what do you think the value of them all is?

Thanks for looking!
Tyler
 
Nice collection of ukes! An eBay advanced search of sold listings can help establish value. But I'm sure they are worth more than $500.

What's next?
 
That what I've been doing but I figure it wouldn't hurt to get a second/third/fourth opinion, mostly just because of conditions. Next is playing them, and trying to learn as much as I can. But first, I need to get them all some new strings!
 
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#4 kamaka pineapple soprano. Front is in good condition as well as the neck, the back had two cracks that have been repaired, my guess puts it around 1950-1960

Love those Kamaka pineapples, yours is a white label which means it was made somewhere between 1969 and 2000
 
nice find! I'm sure you got your moneys worth and more, and have an instant vintage collection!
 
based on what I remember from s few years of EBay obsessing, the first 3 are hundred dollar ukes. a bit more on a good day. the Kamaka would probably sell for $350 to $550 in its current condition. The Kumalea is a bit of a wild card because it needs work. I'd guess at least $250, maybe as high as $800 after being restored/repaired.

I am not an expert appraiser, and these numbers are more like educated guesses than serious appraisals.
 
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