Need Some Advice...Re: Lee "Pen" Gwin.

[MaxEN]

Hello everyone, my name is Max Nuccio. I'm the 15 year old nephew of Lee Gwin, some of you may know him as "Pen" Gwin. As many of you know, Lee died last April. He left us his mandolins. Now, my mother and I are looking to sell them since (sadly) neither of us play the instrument. I have a few questions for you all, firstly, I would like to know what the worth of these instruments are. Since I know little about mandolins, I'm having a hard time identifying the make, model, etc. But I do know that two of the three are made by Weber, and I think they are the nicer models of the three. One (or possibly both) I believe is called the "Gallatin" and was marked on the receipt (?) to be worth $2085...the other is also called the "Gallatin" I believe (though it looks completely different) and is worth $2426.25... and the last is not a Weber but looks in fact to be made by Stadium. I will attach some pictures. I would appreciate your feedback.
My second question is, where should I sell these instruments? I was thinking something like Ebay or Craigslist, but I am so unfamiliar with this community that I wasn't sure if there would be a better way--like some sort of mandolin selling community dedicated just to mandolins.
Thank you all so much for your help. I will try to stay active on this so I can acknowledge any questions or answers you have. Peace,
Max Nuccio.

[Jim Garber]

Max: The Mandolin Cafe has an excellent and safe classifieds that many of us buy from and is to me always the best place to sell mandolins. They ask for a 2% of the selling price donation to the site, no other fees.

A number of years ago a dear friend of mine passed away and I sold 9 of his mandolins, most through the classifieds here.

The members have a good sense of what Lee's mandolins are worth on the the market and they will let you know what is a fair price.

I just got the Vintage Guitar Price Guide for 2017 and looked up the listed retail prices. You can use these as a guideline. All are for used instruments in excellent condition.

• Weber Sweet Pea: $235-300
• Weber Gallatin A: $700-1,000
• Weber Gallatin F: $1,100-1,500
• Stadium (similar to Strad-O-Lin): $400-525 (might be a little less since this is a plain version, I think)

I don't know what the custom Weber is bit perhaps you could contact Weber and see what they would charge now and adjust the used price accordingly. NOTE: none of these are hard and fast and you may want to adjust the prices one way or the other. I am sure that other members will chime in here with their assessments.

[allenhopkins]

It looks like your uncle had Weber make him a custom Gallatin, with an "A-style headstock," highly figured maple, a "buckskin" finish, radius fingerboard, etc. That's the dark brown instrument pictured, and may be the one whose warranty card is labeled "Special Edition"; check the serial number against the one recorded on the card. The other Gallatin is an A-style, the lighter-colored one pictured. Weber's "Gallatin" series has less ornamentation, simpler binding (or no body binding), etc. than their more expensive brands.

You have a warranty card for a Weber Bridger octave mandolin, but I don't see one pictured. The third mandolin pictured is a Weber Sweet Pea, for which you also have a warranty card.

The custom Gallatin certainly cost your uncle more than the standard price for a Gallatin F, but the customizing may or may not result in a higher resale market price; not everyone would want an F-style mandolin with an A-style headstock profile, for example.

We'd need a pic of the Stadium mandolin; this label was found on some decent mid-20th-century US mandolins, as Jim G mentions, but it also shows up on some new Asian-made instruments that are pretty low-end. I'd guess your uncle had one of the older US ones, but I don't see its pic in your post, so flying blind here a bit...

Good luck. Jim G's recommendation of the Cafe classifieds is a very good one. Other than that, you could see if the Prescott AZ dealer that sold your uncle the Webers, would take them on consignment. You'd get less money, but you'd also be spared the responsibility of advertising, responding to inquiries, making shipping arrangements, etc. It's a tradeoff.

[gtani7]

If you're close to Phoenix, you could contact the Mandolin Store, a dealer we al think very highly of, about consignment sales and other arrangements: https://themandolinstore.com/ (and also folkmusician.com, Reno NV)

[mrmando]

Prescott is 100 miles from Phoenix. But the mandolins would move a lot faster at the Mandolin Store than at the PFC.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Max - I'm very sorry indeed to hear of your uncle's passing,i hadn't heard of it. I used to have his e-mail address on my PC & we corresponded many times,maybe due to the fact that we both owned Weber mandolins.
I sincerely hope that you find buyers for his legacy of instruments,
Ivan

[JEStanek]

I was very sad to learn of Lee's passing. You and your family have my heartfelt condolences. I know I'm not alone in saying how much I enjoyed his posts from Antarctica. If I'm not mistaken, that Weber Sweet Pea went to Antarctica with Lee and played in a couple of really cool (no pun intended) locations.

You've been given some excellent advice on the pricing of those mandolins. I would also recommend using a good vendor to sell them on consignment if the family chooses not to use suggested prices and the Classified Section of this site. It is well run, and has a high volume of traffic.

Jamie

[MikeEdgerton]

I think the Stadium will be closer to $300.00. +1 for contacting Dennis Vance at the Mandolin Store (www.themandolinstore.com)

[The Mandolin Store]

I'm very sorry to hear of Lee's passing. My recommendation would be to list them for sale on the classifieds here as all 2 should sell pretty easy and maximize the amout that you would net. We would consign the Weber Gallatin F - it should bring $1749 easily..............the value mentioned in a previous post is really too low. If I had that in the shop I'd price it at $1999 since it has a gloss finish and custom color. The other 2 instruments we would not consign due to the low value and not enough meat on the bone to cover the expenses of selling. If there is a Bridger Octave that should bring $1999-$2499. If we can be of any assistance please give us call call
Regards
Dennis

[MaxEN]

Jim, thanks for your help. I think you might be mistaken though-- I only have three mandolins, two Webers and a Stadium. I'm pretty sure I don't have the Sweet Pea.

[Jill McAuley]

Jim, thanks for your help. I think you might be mistaken though-- I only have three mandolins, two Webers and a Stadium. I'm pretty sure I don't have the Sweet Pea.

Max, the photo at the bottom right that you posted, with an arm in a green sleeve visible, would be the Weber Sweet Pea mandolin.

I was so sorry to hear of your Uncle's passing - I enjoyed his post's and shared his love of Corgis, my condolences to yourself and your family.

Jill

[MaxEN]

Dennis, thank you very much for your help. What is a Bridger Octave? Also I'm a bit conflicted because you're saying the Gallatin A doesn't even hold enough worth to sell on the website, however other sources have suggested it's worth anywhere from $500-$1000. What would you say is the minimum value of the instrument that would make it viable to sell here? Thanks again,
Max

[George R. Lane]

Max,
Jill is correct about the Sweet Pea. If you need more info on it contact the folks at Weber.
This is the link to their contact info.

http://webermandolins.com/support/contact

- - - Updated - - -

[MaxEN]

Allen, thanks for your reply. I'm confused though, is "Stadium" a maker of mandolin, or a style, or a model? The mandolin you're referring to as the Weber Gallatin A has "Stadium" written at the top near the pegs.
-Max

[Bill Snyder]

Your photo shows the Gallatin(1), a Weber Sweet Pea and the Stadium. You have receipts or warranty cards for instruments other than the ones you show photos of.

[KEB]

Allen, thanks for your reply. I'm confused though, is "Stadium" a maker of mandolin, or a style, or a model? The mandolin you're referring to as the Weber Gallatin A has "Stadium" written at the top near the pegs.
-Max

Hi Max-- the documentation that you have doesn't exactly match up with the pictures you're showing, which is causing some confusion.

The beautiful brown mandolin is a Weber Gallatin, which is worth ~$2,000 as mentioned by others. That's a bit of a custom job, but it should find a buyer pretty easily.

The Tiny one with the big oval hole is called a "Weber Sweat Pea." They're inexpensive travel mandolins that are worth a couple hundred bucks.

The remaining mandolin is not a Weber. It's a stadium mandolin which were primarily a "house brand" made by a company called stradolin in the mid 20th century and rebranded for a bunch of different companies-- some people really like them but they're generally worth about $250, and a lot of people think they're a great buy at that price. If you wanted to keep one as a memento of your uncle to potentially pick up and play, this wouldn't be a bad choice.

The paperwork that you have describes a second "Weber Gallatin" mandolin purchased in 2004, but we don't see that one. Maybe it was sold to help pay for the second one?

The "Bridger Octave" is an octave mandolin that'd be about twice as big as the others you have-- probably an "a shape" kind of like the stadium mandolin. It'd be worth $3,000 or maybe more.

[CES]

Does the Stadium have some red paint on the back and on the back of the neck? If so, I almost bought that one from him through the classifieds here a few months before I heard of his passing. I think he priced it at $300-350, as it was a solid topped mando.

As others are pointing out, some of the cards and pics don't match up. Best bet may be to call Dennis at the mandolin and discuss with him offline. The stadium and sweet pea are inexpensive enough that they're not worth consigning...just not enough profit to make it worth either of your whiles. But, they should sell easily on the classifieds here...

Good luck, and please give your family my regards. Truly sorry for your loss...

[Charlieshafer]

Dennis, thank you very much for your help. What is a Bridger Octave? Also I'm a bit conflicted because you're saying the Gallatin A doesn't even hold enough worth to sell on the website, however other sources have suggested it's worth anywhere from $500-$1000. What would you say is the minimum value of the instrument that would make it viable to sell here? Thanks again,
Max

Unless I miss the point, Dennis was saying that there's not enough profit for him to consign it, but selling it on the classifieds should easily net you what it's worth. So it's very viable to sell here, just not for Dennis to consider taking it on consignment. He has to make a certain net amount to make it worth his while packing, shipping, possible taking it back if the buyer isn't satisfied, etc. But by all means it should do well on the classifieds here.

[mrmando]

Dennis is saying he would consign the Weber Gallatin F, but not the Stadium or the Weber Sweet Pea.

There is no Weber Gallatin A in the photos.
There is no Weber Bridger octave mandolin in the photos.

Unless there is another instrument around that isn't depicted in the photos, Lee sold the Bridger octave before his passing, and forgot to include the original paperwork with the sale.

The "special edition" warranty card and the three slips from Prescott Folklore Center all seem to refer to the Weber Gallatin F-style mandolin in the center photo, which appears to have a modified A-style headstock and other nonstandard features. It appears that the original price of this instrument was $2045 in early 2004 when he ordered it and made a down payment. After 14 months the price had gone up to $2426.25 plus tax, probably because he requested some additional options after placing the initial order.

Nothing you have posted refers to or depicts a Weber Gallatin A-style mandolin.

[MikeEdgerton]

Your pictures above.

Left: Stadium mandolin. That is what we call a Strad-O-Lin genre mandolin. Stadium was a brand name owned by a distributor. Your uncle mentions the instrument in this thread. It is unknown who built these instruments. He bought it from Elderly in Lansing, MI for $250.00.

Middle: Weber Gallatin F. A thread below this one says he bought it in 2004.

Right: Weber Sweet Pea. He mentions one here that the top sunk on. He may have replaced it. If that mandolin is still damaged the value is way less.

You have pictures of three mandolins and paperwork for more. Are there more instruments?

In addition, your uncle mentions his octave mandolin here. Here is a list of the mandolins your Uncle owned or had owned at the time he posted.

For anyone looking to take a trip down memory lane here is Lee's Blog.

[MaxEN]

Thank you everyone for all your help. You've all been companions during this project. Mike, I would like to thank you especially for your help along the way especially your last comment which must've taken some amount of digging. Mike, firstly, I don't think the top is still sunk on the Sweet Pea. Would it be obvious if that were the case? Secondly, I believe those three instruments are the only ones he left us with. I'll ask my mom and see. Thanks again

[MikeEdgerton]

You would know it when it was played up the neck. He remarks that he kept it in one of the threads.

[allenhopkins]

Allen, thanks for your reply. I'm confused though, is "Stadium" a maker of mandolin, or a style, or a model? The mandolin you're referring to as the Weber Gallatin A has "Stadium" written at the top near the pegs.
-Max

Max, thanx for straightening me out. "Stadium" is a nameplate, a brand, that's been used at least a couple times: once for US-made, medium-price mandolins in the mid-20th-century, more recently for lower-end Asian-made instruments.

The blond A-model mandolin appears to be one of the US-made Stadium instruments. It may have been made by Regal or Harmony, possibly (unlikely) by Strad-O-Lin. I'd venture that it could be solid woods, probably heat-pressed, and worth several hundred dollars -- though I think Jim G's quote of $400-525 is a bit optimistic; I'd say $300-400 at the most. (But I'm cheap.)

You have the custom Weber Gallatin, a Weber Sweet Pea "travel" mandolin, and the Stadium. The Bridger octave mandolin -- the warranty card you showed -- would be a much larger instrument, nearly guitar-sized, and I'm guessing your uncle traded it in or sold it at some point, but kept the warranty card. Here's a link to Weber's website and a pic of a Bridger octave.

You're getting a lot of good advice here. And, you have three quite sale-able mandolins; the Sweet Pea is apparently no longer made by Weber, and there are a number of Cafe inquiries about smaller instruments for travel, or for a child to learn on. The Stadium could be a good knockabout mandolin, and the custom Gallatin, as Dennis at the Mandolin Store states, is an attractive "one-of" with the A-style headstock, figured woods, and special finish.

[Jim Garber]

The blond A-model mandolin appears to be one of the US-made Stadium instruments. It may have been made by Regal or Harmony, possibly (unlikely) by Strad-O-Lin. I'd venture that it could be solid woods, probably heat-pressed, and worth several hundred dollars -- though I think Jim G's quote of $400-525 is a bit optimistic; I'd say $300-400 at the most. (But I'm cheap.)

To clarify: I actually agree with the valuation Allen makes above. What I was doing was quoting the newest VG Price Guide for whatever that is worth and with the caveat that their price quotes are merely to use as a guideline. I think dealers and auction sellers use that as a realistic starting point and adjust accordingly.

[MikeEdgerton]

The Stadium is a Strad-O-lin genre mandolin. I had one just like it pass through.