This discussion started with how much piano rolls are worth when
selling a collection.  It has now expanded into which rolls to purchase.

I have little to add about _selling_ rolls because I almost never sell
them.  Generally, I just give duplicates, regardless of "value", to any
fellow collector who wants them (but not to dealers).  The "junk" ends
up with thrift shops or anyone else free of charge (but I never throw
away a roll, whatever the condition).  To me, the value of the rolls
I keep is the enjoyment they give me, and I don't worry about the
dollar value.

When it comes to _buying_ I would suggest that Larry Norman's advice
about 88-note rolls may be too limited: "You really want blues and
ragtime or tunes that you know."

One problem in finding blues and ragtime rolls is that they often are
not labeled as such.  One of my favorite ragtime rolls, for example,
is "Yankee Land", but it is shown on QRS 30086 as a March and Two Step.
It was composed by Max Hoffman in 1904 not as a rag per se, but for a
Broadway show called "The Rodgers Brothers In Paris".  The trio later
became part of George Botsford's "Black and White Rag" and Del Wood's
"Ragtime Melody".

As for "buying tunes you know", I often buy unknown titles based on
the pianist or the composer.  Most any Pete Wendling roll, for example,
is likely to be an enjoyable performance.

In fact, I can probably appreciate most foxtrots from the 1920s or
1930s that have a straight-forward arrangement (no marimba). As a
result, I have hundreds of pop titles that many people today might
never recognize or want.

I also sometimes acquire strange titles just to find out more about
them!  Examples include "What's the Use of Havin' Honey (If There Ain't
No Bee To Buzz Around)" (QRS 2552) and "Get Yourself A Monkey Man (And
Make Him Strut His Stuff") (QRS 2913).

Mike Montgomery once told me that one of his joys in collecting piano
rolls was to find that unknown "sleeper" that "knocks his socks off".
I'll give you three brief examples of those kinds of surprises from my
personal experiences in culling through batches of rolls.

First, a roll I almost discarded because the unfamiliar title looked
to be a dreary World War I ballad: "On Decoration Day (They'll Know
Where To Bring Your Flowers To)" (QRS 3841).  It turned out to be a
Blues, recorded in 1926 by a singer named Martha Copeland and credited
to an unknown Jason Isbell.  Her recording is now available on the
Internet as a ringtone.

Next, a roll I originally thought was a duplicate of QRS 4619 "He,
She and Me".  I check all duplicates against the copy I have to keep
upgrading condition.  When the perforations didn't match, I later
figured out the roll was a factory mistake.

Although the box and lyrics were for 4619, I actually had QRS 4617
"Furniture Man Blues", written by Spencer Williams and Victoria Spivey.
(I later copied the lyrics off the recording by Miss Spivey and Lonnie
Johnson.)  I'm surprised the original buyer in 1929 didn't return the
roll to the dealer!

Finally, a roll I originally thought was a substandard version of
a tune I already had: "Nobody Knows What A Red Head Mama Can Do".
I almost discarded the International roll version without playing it
because their arrangements are almost always rejects.  It turned out
to have double-time breaks and a hot double-time final chorus. It is
now, by far, my favorite version.

My message here is, "Be careful what you call junk!"  I suspect that
many of my "surprises" have never been recut and probably never will
because they are "unknown" titles and performances.

Gary Watkins