Value of 51 Martin A sunburst mandolin

[vaboy]

I am looking for a birth year mandolin and have found a sunburst 51 Martin A in very good condition, keys are not original. They are asking $1200.00 at the music store and that seems very high. Can someone give me some guidance. From research I would say its value is more like around $750.00 at the most. Thanks.

[allenhopkins]

I paid $750 for a 1919 Style A, non-sunburst, with a (modern) hardshell case, less than two years ago. I concur that $1.2K is too high; $7-900 would be the range IMHO, depending on where you're buying it, condition, and whether it has a case. Sunbursts are a bit more unusual, but not enough to warrant going into four figures.

[JGWoods]

Carved or bent top?
I have a sunburst '42 bent top, Adi top. It is wonderful, and very rare. Despite that they don't fetch a lot of money because there are not a lot of folks seeking them.

Agreed that $750 is a typical sale price for a non-sunburst bent top A.
The carved tops - I dunno, I haven't watched that market much but they are a bit more generally.

[Capt. E]

I agree too much. These days Martin canted-top mandolins are selling for $700 or so with a hard case (not talking about the carved top like model 2-15 etc). I bought my 1926 Martin Style B (rosewood back and sides) a few months ago for only $515. The market for Martin mandolins is nothing like the market for Martin guitars.

[8ch(pl)]

There is a martin 2-15 in the Classifieds at $750, an absolute bargain, but it is carved top. It should probably be about $400 MORE.