National Tri-cone Steel Guitars, ca. 1934
Watch
APPRAISER:
You've brought us an extra special treat today. We get to take a look at your identical twins.
GUEST:
They are my twins.
APPRAISER:
These are National steel guitars from about 1934, and these are special in that they are resonator guitars, and they have a very unique design, where instead of being a regular wooden box, we have these wonderful resonator cones, which actually are quite a bit louder than the usual acoustic guitar. And these are affectionately known as National steel guitars, but they're not really steel. They're actually made of brass, and they're covered with a nickel silver. The engraving that we find on these is identical on the two guitars. This one's their Lily of the Valley engraving. It's what they called their style three. And it's a pretty fancy engraving, also.
GUEST:
It's beautiful.
APPRAISER:
Up at the top, we have the National nameplate. And that's engraved into a faceplate of pearloid, which is like an artificial mother of pearl, very popular at the time. And we have our high nut here, which lifts the strings very high off the fingerboard so that it can be played with a metal slide. Beautiful ebony fingerboard with diamond inlays. And we come down into the sound chamber where we have this beautiful latticework done in metal. That's a very distinctive design. You won't find that in any other instrument. Down here, behind this screen, we have the three resonator cones that actually vibrate and give it almost a sound that's more electric than acoustic. Here we see more exquisite engraving on the sides, and also on the back. And here we see the square neck, which is the signature of the lap-style guitar, and not the round neck of a Spanish guitar. Now, we're going to lay it down. Now, what is so special about these was that they are actually consecutive serial numbers. Here we have number 2601, and this is actually number 2600, which happened to you completely by coincidence, right?
GUEST:
It did. When I opened up the box from shipping it here, and I first saw that, my eyes just got huge. I said, "Oh, I have a pair." That's all I thought of.
APPRAISER:
Well, these are in wonderful condition. I would estimate their value, each, at about $5,000, but because you have a pair that are consecutive serial numbers, this might be very meaningful to a particular collector who specializes in this sort of thing. So I'd probably add another 20%.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Thank you so much for bringing them in today. Thank you. It was a real treat to get a look at your twins.
GUEST:
Thank you. (playing blues tune) Beautiful sound.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
