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Thread: Vinaccia - 1908 - Value?

  1. #1
    Registered User Bob Knysz's Avatar
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    Default Vinaccia - 1908 - Value?

    Greetings - I have a 1908 Vinaccia Mandolin and am trying to determine its value. It is in very good playable condition. I have used it several times for my Italian gigs. Does anyone know who to contact? Addl pictures available.
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  2. #2
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    Default Re: Vinaccia - 1908 - Value?

    Nice high-end example. I could see a four-figure price tag for it, but am sufficiently out of the marketplace to determine which digits to use.

  3. #3
    Full Grown and Cussin' brunello97's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vinaccia - 1908 - Value?

    Very pretty, very clean.
    4 figures? Yes. If the neck is good, likely at least a couple large.
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  4. #4

    Default Re: Vinaccia - 1908 - Value?

    I sent a link to a world class expert, I know. He said it looked like a very good instrument but I was surprised by the valuation he gave. However, his view is that many bowl back mandolins sell for very little- and I assume it is supply and demand, so the really good examples command less than one would imagine. There is a seller in Bologna on ebay who has had some very expensive Vinaccia and other make mandolins in the past and they are for sale for a very long time. Whether or not, he gets his asking price, I do not know. So it is four figures in US dollars, it seems.

  5. #5
    mando-evangelist August Watters's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vinaccia - 1908 - Value?

    Quote Originally Posted by NickR View Post
    I assume it is supply and demand, so the really good examples command less than one would imagine. . . So it is four figures in US dollars, it seems.
    I think it has a lot to do with the reputation of the seller. There are well-regarded Italian luthiers who sell fully-restored mandolins of this type for several times that sum. Then there are dealers who try to get similar prices for non-restored, or poorly "restored" instruments, but it's caveat emptor. And then there are collectors and dealers, who usually sell for quite a bit less. This looks like a nice piece, but for top dollar it needs to go to Italy for full restoration -- and that's unlikely since the American market doesn't really distinguish between the value of a high-end instrument that's been restored, and one that hasn't.
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  6. #6

    Default Re: Vinaccia - 1908 - Value?

    Yes, this expert is a superb luthier- and he has the skills to restore it- if that would be necessary. However, he does not have the time. He did a restoration of a historically significant guitar for me that was probably made in 1842. He really wanted to buy it off me but offered to do the restoration as I did not want to sell. Subsequently, he made an exact copy of it!

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