Antiques Road Show tonight 7 PM CDT Monday 5/7. Pink Lady Lionel in original boxes. From Minneapolis. What will the value be?
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1500.00/1600.00
IF it's the Road Show? More than it's worth.
Ken Farmer is a personal friend and what they give on the road show is usually insurance value not what I'd bring at auction but it makes it sound more exciting .
He did an appraisal on my son's violins(fiddles if you live here) and the insurance company had no problem insuring them for that amount which was close to 200 grand. One is dated 1746 and the other 1804. The one from 1804 was a gift but the one from 1746 has been in our family since that time. My son plays both of them quite well.
David
Depends on condition, condition, condition...as well as how complete the outfit is and whether it is the original or one of the various repros.
Originally Posted by Allan Miller:
Depends on condition, condition, condition...as well as how complete the outfit is and whether it is the original or one of the various repros.
You left out 3 other factors.Check book, check book, check book.
It'll only go for as much as your willing to pay.
David
Originally Posted by DPC:
He did an appraisal on my son's violins(fiddles if you live here) and the insurance company had no problem insuring them for that amount which was close to 200 grand. One is dated 1746 and the other 1804. The one from 1804 was a gift but the one from 1746 has been in our family since that time. My son plays both of them quite well.
David
Violins usually go for more depending on the quality. Their age is definitely a big factor too. The older, the richer the sound (in most cases) and the more desirable they are. The one I play is from 1930, which is fairly "young" for a violin
Originally Posted by DPC:
You left out 3 other factors.Check book, check book, check book.
From a prospective buyer's perspective, that's true. But it doesn't apply to an appraisal or to the individual who owns the item (and who may or may not be interested in selling it). Many participants on the Road Show have no intention of selling the times they bring, but may simply want to know the value, if any, for insurance purposes and the like.
That is why the hosts often give two values--auction or retail market value, and the amount the owner should consider insuring the item for (always somewhat higher).
Man said 7-9 thousand.................... wow
I stand corrected 7000.00/9000.00
7-9,000 at auction?
Gunny
Just on, $7 - $9,000!
Who else think that was a little high?
Pete
How did the set look? Boxes? Set box? Crisp brick boxes? Dont the reeeeally nice boxed 6464 twins still go for about $1k each? Even mega-mint, I'd guess closer to $3,500 to $4,000 range.
According to my Lionel sets guide, the Girl's set should bring $5000 in Like New condition, which although this set was complete with the operating instructions, no transformer was shown, and the lockon, lube kit and all the other little things were not apparent. The price guide was printed before the recession really took hold of disposable income items, so I think $3500 would have been a realistic appraisal. Also, the appraiser's area of expertise is tin toys and items from the twenties and thirties. Still, everyone will be checking their parent's attics for their sister's train sets. Makes everyone more aware of our hobby, which is a good thing.
I'm not in a position to provide an estimate since I wasn't there and did not see the item up close and personal. However, since provenance was established and since the individual Road Show appraisers often consult with other colleagues and specialists over values prior to the on-camera segment, I imagine the $7,000 figure might be entirely reasonable. In 1990, the Lady Lionel (aka "Girl's Train") set was valued at $4,000 in Like New condition (for a complete set).
I just happened to land on the show as I was changing channels. The set wasn't pristine, and neither were the boxes. Probably C7-C8 and the boxes were in similar condition. I thought they valued it a bit high, and was assuming it would price out at around $5,000.
The woman wanted to rid herself of that set. It had no meaning to her, and you could see the dollar signs in her eyes. As soon as the cameras were off, I'll bet she turned it over to the closest auctioneer. Bully for her.
Seeing it again, the train looks better than I thought it did last night. But the boxes aren't in as good shape. The estimate wasn't that far off after all, I theenk.
Like Luke, I noticed the absence of the transformer and it’s OB. That caught my eye because my wife’s set is only missing the box for the transformer. And Luke also mentioned the lockon and lube kit. Also, there is no mention of any track. The auctioneer mentioned having the instruction book but I would think he would have mentioned the transformer and the track, too, if they were present.
The track, lockon and lube kit are easily replaceable but not the transformer and it’s OB. That would downgrade the value by several hundred dollars. I’ve been looking for that transformer box for 30 years now.
Bill
Items like the transformer and its OB, plus any other items missing and little dings would all add up to detract from the sets value. I wonder if for the TV display, whoever in charge figured to leave the transformer and any misc things the public may not recognize inside the set box or off to the side? From her story of it being barely run and then packed away for decades, there wouldn't have been much time to loose anything. I hope when the lady discovered the set, nobody ripped open the box flaps!
Something the guy said is odd. In the 50's Lionel trains weren't selling well (so Lionel made the girls set). How can this "expert" say Lionel wasn't selling, and then offer an "expert" appraisal? Is this something that a TV guy would make up just for this little story? I question the "expert" credibility just for that stupid statement.
franktrain: Thank you for the link.
Lionel sales peaked between 1952 and 1954. They began a steady decline and they went into free fall at the end of the decade. The company perceived itself as a TOY company that made trains as opposed to a toy TRAIN company. So long as trains were THE toy, they were fine. The girls set was just one of a long list of bad ideas that the management came up with at the time to try and maintain their dominance as a toy company without seeming to realize that kids were now interested in a lot more than just trains.
I wouldn't own one of these sets. Well, if it was GIVEN to me, maybe.
I never had any interest in that type of set. Could you guess... I'm an operator.
IF you read carefuly , the appraiser , said could sell between 7and 9 depending on how well the set cleaned up ,and the boxes not that great . in my opinion to get that high would depend on the auction house ,and the buyers ,but one never really knows until its over.LIKE QUOTE( IT ANT OVER TILL IS OVER YOGI BERRA) TECHMAN
