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Here's the ad; the estate sale was last week but the ad is still up.
Ad says "a 1946 Martin guitar and an older mandolin." The guitar is (I'm no expert) a 000, I think; can't tell if it's 18 or 28 since there isn't a photo of the back. No photo of the mandolin!
https://cleveland.craigslist.org/gms...169554576.html
Attachment 187865
Quick search finds a 1946 000-18 (mahogany back) for $6K and a 1946 000-28 (rosewood back) for $18K. So that is a worthwhile guitar; makes you wonder about the mandolin.
It's a 000-18. Back is visible through the soundhole and definitely mahogany. And the fingerboard inlay pattern is different between the two. As well as the -28 series should have an ebony bridge and fingerboard.
Unless they got the serial number from the neck block, I think it's later than 1946. The rounded headstock corners make me think later. Could even be 1960's.
If it doesn't need a lot of work (neck set, pickguard crack, bridge coming up) then it probably sold quickly.
It is a "his and hers" sale -- she liked crafts, rings, and purses, while he liked guitar, mandolin and dirty books................................:))
Not if the G-98 tuners are original.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric Platt
I like it.
Mike Longworth tells an interesting story about the “rounded corners” in his book “Martin Guitars a History”. I’m not sure if he puts a date on it but, for those who haven’t heard it, apparently, the more rounded corners weren’t deliberate. It wasn’t until somebody asked why they had changed the shape of the headstock that they realised that the single metal template they had been scribing around was wearing rounder and rounder.Quote:
Originally Posted by sunburst
It looks more like a 60's model Martin to me as well. Maybe they reversed the 64 with 46.
I figured the guitar folks here would straighten this out. Of course I emailed the seller about the guitar and mandolin, but if they're both sold I doubt I'll get a reply.
.. unintentional double post
Well, this guitar person thinks the picture isn't clear enough to say anything for sure. The long saddle bridge, if original, indicates '65 or earlier. The bridge color [again, if original] is a bit light for what I would expect to see on a '46. Rosewood fingerboards did become common on 000-18's by 1940. I've seen G-98 Grovers on Martins made as late as the early '60's. I can't tell anything about the shape of the head from the seller's pictures-- both the angle and the focus make any conclusion risky.
See if the seller can produce a serial number and a price, and go from there. The front of the instrument appears to be in quite good condition.
I think anyone who runs estate sales for a living can look up a Martin serial number online. Pretty easy. Takes about 20 seconds. And, Martin numbers run in a logical sequence, unlike Gibson and other companies. That and the model, also stamped on the neck block can then be looked up on Google and that will tell you what they sell for -- again, might take another 20-30 seconds.
I also think that there is a 1000 percent chance the guitar has been sold if it was priced at near market value or below. People in Cleveland like vintage Martin's, too.
If the sellers were greedy it might still be available.
I've been buying from estate sales for 50 years at this point. Most estate dealers have people they call prior to the sale for instruments, records, comic books, jewelry, old cars, guns, etc.............most of what is offered to the general public has already been picked over. The good stuff is already gone, in most cases.
True, until it comes to Martin mandolin serial numbers. The you'd be real surprised.
I think I saw a rectangular case behind that Yosemite Sam box in the closet. Could be that closet Loar F-5. :)
I wonder why they didn't show the mandolin, or did I just miss it?