On 3/31/2016 8:05 AM, Tim wrote:

That's nice. I have a fender guitar that was produced by the hundreds of thousands, except mine is factory different. it's documented and it's #3 out of only 13 of it's kind in the world. It's worth about as much as my wifes new Honda CRV So...
I can appreciate his collection of unused firearms, with documented factory owned (not for sale to the public) pieces.


Some guitars can be very valuable if rare and it sounds like you may
have one. My experience though is that the true market value is almost
always lower than what the owner would like to believe. Fender has
their "Custom Shop" series of guitars that come with documentation but
they are rarely worth what people think they are worth when it comes
time to sell or trade them. The best sounding and playing "Telecaster"
I've ever had is one that was custom built by Rick at the shop. Of
course, my opinion is a bit biased.

I once had the daughters of a guy who had passed away come into the
guitar shop carrying a strange looking case. When I opened it, it
contained a 1962 Fender Telecaster in excellent condition. I looked it
up in the Vintage Guitar Pricing Guide and it was valued at just over
$17,000. But, it didn't have the original case, so it had a minor
impact on it's value. I offered them $12,000 for it but also
recommended that they take it to other shops who might be willing to pay
more. They appreciated the advice and left.

About a month later they returned and said that if my offer of $12K
still stood, they would accept it. Meanwhile, I had done some research
on the strange case it was in and discovered that it was an original
Fender "Thermometer" case that was used by Fender for less than
two years when they first came out with the "Broadkaster", then
"Nocaster" before being re-named the "Telecaster". The case looks like
an acoustic guitar case but has a "bulb" shape at the headstock end.
You can get reissued versions of it that are made to look old but this
one was an original.

Anyway, I found out that the original issue Thermometer cases were very
rare and commanded premium prices to collectors. When the daughters
came back I told them that the case may be valuable in addition to the
guitar. I also asked them if their Dad had another guitar, thinking
they may have put the wrong guitar in the case. If he had an original
Broadkaster or Nocaster, it would have been worth well over $100K.
Turns out he didn't and the daughters said they were happy with my offer
of $12K.

I sold the case on eBay for $3,500 after a bidding war
between two collectors and sold the Telecaster for the $12K that I paid
for it and the case.

Funny thing about the old, vintage, 50's and 60's Telecasters is that
they sound like crap compared to the modern versions, especially the
upper neck pickup. Magnetic pickups have improved enormously since
those days but when you are trying to reproduce the original sound of
a 50's or early 60's Tele, only the old pickups will give the guitar
that distinctive sound.