Vintage 1959 Gibson Les Paul Flametop Guitar

In this day and age where cash seems to be worth less and less, there still are a few items that seem to appreciate with age. One of those categories appears to be vintage guitars, especially vintage Gibson guitars.

In recent years, Gibson guitar collectors have been known to pay as much as $400,000 (yes, that’s a 4 with 5 zeros!) for a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Flametop.  According to Jay Boone, owner of Emerald City Guitars in Pioneer Square, that particular guitar was sitting under a bed gathering dust for 40 years, unbeknownst to the adult children in the family in Illinois who discovered its worth after seeing some press about Boone and its sister guitar.*

Guitars like that just 10 years ago would have only gotten a 10th of that, but currently the market is hot, even with people striving to save every penny.  Avid (or should I say rabid?) collectors of all types don’t seem to have slowed down and the guitar market proves that.  Quite a few people would love to have their hands on the same type of guitar that say, Les Paul, Bruce Springsteen or Paul McCartney may have played.

Even other models of vintage guitars that would have only brought $2-$3000 a decade ago are currently being snapped up for $20-$30,000.  Of course, the vintage guitars are also 10 years older than they were, and finding ones in good condition is getting more and more scarce as time goes by, making each more valuable.

So, if you happen to have what might be a vintage guitar hiding in a closet or attic somewhere that appears to be in fairly good shape, you might want to get it appraised.  Even if you aren’t planning to sell it to finance your kid’s education, take that vacation, or sock the money away for your retirement, it wouldn’t hurt to have it insured for what it’s really worth.  (However, if you’re going to sell or buy a guitar as an investment, as with all investments, realize that guitar values can go down as easily as they go up…as the stock market and housing markets recently proved.)  And as with all collectibles, watch out for phony or reissued models.  When unsure, always ask an expert.  (And, as the Antiques Roadshow has shown time and again, sometimes it’s best to ask at least 2! And don’t forget to check out up-to-date price guides, too.)

 *According to Taking stock of your collectibles in the Seattle PI.

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