Old violin

Juniper

New member
Hi!

I have an old violin and would like to find out what is worth and in case that it is an original, where to sell it.

The sign in the violin says it's Stradivari, but the violin is in a very bad shape, so it's probably fake.

Thanks,

Juniper
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
:wave:
Hi Juniper ... and welcome to our forum.

I am unable to address your query, but others here may have the necessary knowledge to share.

I did find a site Values of Violins which gives some points to consider when pricing (to buy) a violin, and the points can be used for trying to establish a value as well. Some interesting points on that site. Worth reading.

Best advice I can offer is to have it examined by a Luthier in your region. They will be able to readily spot an original piece or if it is not.
 

JHC

Chief assistant to the assistant chief
I also have a very old Violin with an internal Stradivarius label it is worth about NZ$60 there must be thousands around it is extremely unlikely that it is a Strad but live in hope.
 

DrBen

New member
"Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been'." --John Greenleaf Whittier



"The usual label, whether genuine or false, uses the Latin inscription Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno [date]. This inscription indicates the maker (Antonio Stradivari), the town (Cremona), and "made in the year," followed by a date that is either printed or handwritten.

"Copies made after 1891 may also have a country of origin printed in English at the bottom of the label, such as "Made in Czechoslovakia," or simply "Germany." Such identification was required after 1891 by United States regulations on imported goods.


"Thousands upon thousands of violins were made in the 19th century as inexpensive copies of the products of great Italian masters of the 17th and 18th centuries. Affixing a label with the master’s name was not intended to deceive the purchaser but rather to indicate the model around which an instrument was designed. At that time, the purchaser knew he was buying an inexpensive violin and accepted the label as a reference to its derivation. As people rediscover these instruments today, the knowledge of where they came from is lost, and the labels can be misleading."

Source: Encyclopedia Smithsonian http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmah/stradv.htm
 
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