Re: 971106 MMDigest

Thoughts about the letter from Michael Grosser regarding price guides &
coins.....

I can see part of your point concerning the grading of coins.  BUT, you
can show pictures of coins in given conditions and anybody can get an
idea as to what condition their coin is in and, hence, what it is worth
in a price guide.

There is NO WAY you can describe/picture MECHANICAL condition of a musical
box.   You can see obvious damages like broken teeth & tooth tips.  But
apart from that how can a novice Sherlock Holmes the REASON for the
damages???

A good example...  about 20 years ago I got a call from a lady in her 60's
who said she had a 12" Regina she wanted to sell.   I asked her about
condition, sound, case condition, etc.   Well, this box had been in her
family for all its life and was in excellent condition and sounded
wonderful... so I was told.    We agreed to a price.  I received the box
and found:

    1) the interior sound boards were missing.
    2) the case looked like someone had been hitting it with a chain.
    3) most seriously....THE DAMPERS WERE TOTALLY MISSING!!!
    4) the box had so much wear on in that the teeth 'clicked' when it played.

I had given her descriptions of different types of sounds, different things
that I look for when buying a box, etc.   Whether such descriptions were
spoken to her or written in a price guide, her reaction would have still
been that her box was wonderful!

If she had a price guide on Mechanical Musical Items she would have looked
up DISC BOXES.  Under that she would have found REGINA. Under that she
would have seen,  12" Regina music box,  playing condition, 5 discs, (It
might actually differentiate between single and double comb),  $1400.00.
Does this mean hers was worth that???  She couldn't see/hear that she had
no dampers, no sound boards, wear on the comb, and a beat up case.
So... she merrily thinks her box is worth $1400.   I come along and tell
her,  gee...  sorry, but your box has all this wrong with it...  and she
thinks I'm trying to steal her box!   Who looks like the bad guy???

I still maintain that a price guide for mechanical antiques of any sort
(music boxes, cars, slot machines, etc.) generally tend to mislead the
public.

When you have a price guide for an item where hundreds of thousands of that
item still exist,  and where specific 'condition' criteria can be
established,  and where the price guide reflects prices REALIZED, not
prices asked for... then you've got something to go by.

Nancy
Nancy Fratti - Panchronia Antiquities