Stella by harmony mandolin

[bleomonkey]

Does anybody know how much money a Stella by Harmony mandolin could fetch? #It might be called an "A" style No. 331 Stella Lute Style Mandolin, but I don't know. #I'll post some pics to help.
http://c.imagehost.org/0747/Photo_26.jpg
http://c.imagehost.org/0865/Photo_27.jpg
http://c.imagehost.org/t/0678/Photo_29.jpg (http://c.imagehost.org/view/0678/Photo_29.jpg)

Thanks

[MikeEdgerton]

Your mandolin is from the late 60's/early 70's as in 1960/1970 and was made in Chicago by Harmony. I had trouble getting rid of one that was virtually unplayed last year with a case. I finally got $50.00 out of it and was very happy.

[bleomonkey]

So you don't think it's worth something like $300? Is it more in the $50 range or is that just what you settled for?

[MikeEdgerton]

I was lucky to get $50.00. I think I paid the freight out of that as well. Take a look through the completed auctions on eBay using Harmony and Mandolin as keywords. These were made under the Harmony and the Stella brand name. It isn't worth anywhere near $300.00, not even on a good day.

If you're selling it be happy for anything you get over $50.00. If you're buying it there are better choices available for $300.00.

[mandroid]

Harmony and Kay were the makers of the Sears-Roebucks Silvertone's and the Montgomery-Wards Airline .

... and the other pages in catalogs came in handy in the outhouse too ,I hear. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Bobbie Dier]

That's like the first mandolin I ever had. I think it was $40 used in 1976 or 1977. Not that particular one but one just like it. Don't pay $300, you'd be getting ripped off.

[bleomonkey]

I'm not buying one, but I am thinking of selling it. I just acquired it a couple of months ago, but according to you guys, it might not be worth selling.

[allenhopkins]

It's worth selling if less than $100 is worth getting.

Don't forget to figure in your time and trouble in selling it.

[MikeEdgerton]

Well, <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/HARMONY-S-72-MI-MANDOLIN-RARE-MUSICAL-INSTRUMENT-LR_W0QQitemZ130244826820QQihZ003QQcategor
yZ10179QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" target="_blank">Here's</a> one on eBay right now with a few hours left.

[MikeEdgerton]

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Stella-Mandolin-1960s-Vintage-Antique-with-case_W0QQitemZ280255866182QQihZ018QQcategoryZ10
179QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" target="_blank">This</a> one could be yours.

[Michael Gowell]

Hey - who's dissin' Sears Sivertone musical instruments? #Jesse Fuller, the amazing one-man band and writer/composer of 'San Francisco Bay Blues' played an electric 12-string Sivertone guitar. #An authentic cat, playing guitar with his own drum and other self-invented percussion devices.

[MikeEdgerton]

It's raining these mandolins today, but <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/STELLA-HARMONY-Mandolin-with-Case_W0QQitemZ260271806963QQihZ016QQcategoryZ10179 QQssPageNam
eZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" target="_blank">here's</a> the good news. One that's up to $85.00 plus shipping with several hours to go.

[allenhopkins]

Hey - who's dissin' Sears Sivertone musical instruments? #Jesse Fuller, the amazing one-man band and writer/composer of 'San Francisco Bay Blues' played an electric 12-string Sivertone guitar. #An authentic cat, playing guitar with his own drum and other self-invented percussion devices.
Here he is doing his "hit":

Link # (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKumuirtwbo&feature=related)

Don't know if that's the Silvertone; I saw him twice in the '60's, and as I remember the Silvertone was black and white, and had a very thin body ––#nearly a solid-body. #However, just to watch him playing guitar, "fotdella" foot-operated string bass, hi-hat cymbal, harmonica and kazoo -- well, he was a genius, in my book, and I feel very lucky I caught him when he was still performing.
At one coffeehouse gig in Cambridge, he never left the stage during the break between sets, and "noodled" the most amazing version of William Tell Overture on his 12-string. I still have a couple of his Prestige LP's, and enjoy the music of a great and often-overlooked American musician.

[HarmonyRexy]

This is also the first model of mandolin that I played when I was a teenager around 1970. I don't know how much my parents paid for it then.
But I have one just like it today in my little Harmony 'memory lane' collection. My son and I play them sometimes for grins. The stella is definitely the least of that family.

You can buy them all day long for 70 to 110 dollars. There seem to be a lot of them out there.