Having read Nancy Fratti's views on price guides, I have a counter view.

I share an interest in coin collecting, as well as music boxes.  There
are price guides published for coins to help collectors get an idea of
what a coin is worth.  These prices are not written in stone, but they
give a collector a general idea of what, let's say, an 1880 quarter goes
for.

The value of an average 1880 quarter in average condition value is 60
dollars.  That's not to say that you will be able to sell your quarter
for $60; dealers generally pay anywhere from 60 to 80 percent of the
value of a coin, depending on demand.  The condition of the quarter also
plays a great factor in the value of it.  An 1880 quarter in PRF-65
condition value is around 2900 dollars.

There is a separate section in the book which gives you guide lines to
help you determine in what grade-class each type of coin is, by the type
of coin and how much wear is on the coin.  PRF-65 is a choice/
un-circulated condition coin.  Listed under the PRF-65 grade are all the
things this coin must meet or exceed to be considered a PRF-65.
Otherwise it is downgraded to the next lower class of MS-60, if it fails
to meet that class requirements it's downgraded to AU-55 and so forth.

I fail to see why the same type of pricing/grading system can not be
applied to music boxes.  A price book would provide general guide lines
for the value of music boxes based on condition of them, as well as how
to determine the grading class/condition of each type of box.  Granted a
prices may not reflex exact prices boxes are fetching at a auction or
antique show, but they would give owners and non-expert buyers/sellers an
idea what a box is worth.

I, for one, am not going to have the slightest clue what one type of
cylinder music box is worth from another.  The only thing I can see is
prices are generally go higher, the longer/wider the cylinder is.  I
seen several small music boxes at an antique show, for prices ranging
from 200 to 500 dollars.  Even if I was an expert at grading boxes/coins,
I wouldn't have the slightest idea that a 1880 EF-40 value was $420 and a
1878 EF-40 value was only $80 without a book to tell me there were 2.24
million more quarters minted in 1878 than 1880 (making the 1880 much more
rare and valuable than an 1878 coin).

Perhaps Nancy is trying to express that a pricing guide has yet to be
written that properly addresses condition of visits value of said box.
That's not to say one can not be written.  And one has to remember price
guides fall out of date, yearly price guides are available for coins.
The volume of box sales hardly approach the levels of coins to justify a
yearly update to a music box price guide.  Once a decade update is more
realistic.

Michael Grosser

 [ I'm sure that the price guide for coins also tells the reader how
 [ to evaluate the condition of the coin himself.  A price guide for
 [ mechanical musical instruments should offer the same education and
 [ instruction.  Is this possible?  Is a price guide published for
 [ antique phonographs?  For antique cars?  -- Robbie