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Watch | Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

Watch | Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

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Watch | Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 2

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Close Up | Poet Rainer Maria Rilke's Quote

Close Up | Poet Rainer Maria Rilke's Quote

Owner Interview | Korean Yayoi Stone Dagger, ca. 750 BC

Owner Interview | Korean Yayoi Stone Dagger, ca. 750 BC

Appraisal Collection | All Our Appraisals from Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

Appraisal Collection | All Our Appraisals from Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

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1957 Fender Stratocaster Guitar

Value (2018) | $28,000 Retail – $30,000 Retail
Watch  

GUEST:
This was my father's guitar. He was a sign painter by profession, but he had a passion for music, and he grew up in a family that had a lot of music in the home, and he played many instruments. He always aspired to have an electric guitar from, I think, the time they probably were invented. And this was his pride and joy. It's been sitting underneath my bed for...

APPRAISER:
Really?

GUEST:
...since 19... you know, '86. And I let my son play with it when he was young, and there was a tremolo bar on there, and I think he somehow or other lost that along the way.

APPRAISER:
It's a Fender Stratocaster. It was made in 1957. I'm going to pick up the guitar so we can start off with the back. It's a maple neck, which was made up until 1958, and this is what they call a skunk stripe. The other thing that lets you know that it's a '57 is that it's a two-tone sunburst. This finish, instead of being black to red to yellow is black to yellow. It's a non-laminated plate over the tremolo area on the back. I'm going to turn it around. And on the front of the guitar, you can see the neck has a maple fingerboard. I took the neck off earlier, and inside of here, there's a date of 8/57. And that matches with everything else that I saw on the guitar before I did this. So it made me feel comfortable in thinking it is that. This pick guard is right for the year. It's a non-laminated white pick guard with screws that don't look like they've really ever been off. All the parts, the colors, the patina of everything that I see looks right, looks really original, looks really nice. The tremolo bar, which would go in here, is replaceable. You can find that part. Has anyone given you any idea about the guitar as far as its value?

GUEST:
Not at all, no. I ran across a magazine that told me I probably should be taking care of it, so that was all I did.

APPRAISER:
Do you have any idea?

GUEST:
The range in the magazine said it could be as high as, like, $3,000.

APPRAISER:
I feel real comfortable in thinking that the value is significantly more than that. I would guess somewhere in the neighborhood of $15,000 to $17,000. It's a nice thing. You're very lucky.

GUEST:
Oh, my gosh. Oh, my dad is smiling somewhere.

APPRAISER:
So... GUEST (laughs) That's terrific.

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Appraisal Details

Appraiser
James N. Baggett
Musical Instruments
Mass Street Music
Lawrence, KS
Update (2018)
$28,000 Retail – $30,000 Retail
Appraised value (2004)
$15,000 Retail – $17,000 Retail
Featured In
St. Paul, Hour 3 (#0903)
Vintage St. Paul (#2316)
Event
St Paul, MN (June 26, 2004)
Category
Musical Instruments
Period
20th Century
Form
Electric Guitar

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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