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1938 C.F. Martin 000-21 Guitar

Value (2013) | $20,000 Retail
Watch  

GUEST:
This was owned by my cousin, Myra Ann Smith. She was like my sister. Her family raised me when I was very young. This was purchased in Shreveport, J&S Music Company, in 1939. Her mother signed the note for this guitar, and I think it was $99 in those days. She was only 15 years old when her mother bought this guitar, so that was quite an impressive sum of money for a 15-year-old girl. That's Myra when she was about 18 years old. That's in front of the house we lived in in Shreveport. I remember her sitting on the porch many times playing the guitar, writing songs. Myra was an accomplished musician. She wrote a lot of hit songs. As you can see, Myra was quite an independent-looking lady. Started Ram Records. She had the first recording studio in Shreveport back in about 1957, so she had a recording studio, a record label, song-writing career, and was quite a gifted lady. This guitar was her favorite. It was appreciated by her and she took great care of it. Myra died in 1989 and I acquired the guitar at that time.

APPRAISER:
This is a C.F. Martin guitar. It's a 000-21 Martin. It's actually made in 1938, dating the serial number. It's got Brazilian rosewood back and sides, Brazilian rosewood now being illegal to import, but at the time, it was used on Martin's highest grade guitars. This guitar also has a lot of other high grade things about it. It's got snowflake, mother-of-pearl inlays on the ebony fingerboard. It's got a nice ebony bridge that has never been shaved down, by the way, which a lot of them do get shaved down in amateur neck reset attempts. It also has herringbone trim around the sound hole. This wasn't the top of the line for Martin, but it was up there. It was the second or third best guitar that they made. I see. It has the forward bracing, which people like. This is pretty much the best time period for Martin guitars. And the condition is original. It's never had any refinish or retouching, which makes it unusual.

GUEST:
She played it. It wasn't just all for show, as you can see.

APPRAISER:
I see from the pick wear that it was played a lot. It's a really fabulous guitar. It's a finger picking guitar with a rather wide nut. At retail, the guitar without any historical accessories would bring $20,000 in today's market.

GUEST:
Well, that's... That's an eye-opener, yeah. That's much, much higher than I could even have imagined.

APPRAISER:
With the historical associations, I could see it being worth a few thousand dollars more.

GUEST:
That's great to hear, and I'm sure she would be pleased to know it and I just wish she could be here also.

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Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Lawrence Cavalieri
Musical Instruments
Lawrence Cavalieri Fine Musical Instruments
Newburyport, MA
Appraised value (2013)
$20,000 Retail
Featured In
Baton Rouge, Hour 2 (#1808)
Event
Baton Rouge, LA (July 27, 2013)
Category
Musical Instruments
Period
1930s
Form
Acoustic Guitar
Material
Rosewood

Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.

Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."

Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.

Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.

Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.

Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.

Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.

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