What’s Rare Got to do With it?
"The Watermelon" as I called it is the oldest red 345 known. It is one of four known to exist and yet it commanded only a slight premium over the common sunburst 59s
One of the things that seems to drive prices when it comes to collectibles is rarity. In general, rare coins are worth more than common coins. Rare stamps? Same deal. Cracker Jack prizes? Lunch boxes? You bet. Vintage guitars? Uh, no. Not really. Most collectors know that 58-59 and 60 Les Pauls are the most valuable electric guitars on the planet but they are not particularly rare. There are more 59 ‘bursts than there are 59 335’s. And yet, the ‘burst is worth ten times as much. Rarity between models is pretty much irrelevant. But what happens when you look at rarity within a particular model line? Let’s say a sunburst 59 ES-335 is worth $35,000 for a nice one. They made
How's this for rare? The 1964 Greenburst from Rumble Seat Music's collection. I'm guessing there isn't another like it. I'm also guessing most of us would rather have a blonde one.
some 521 of them and they are rarer than a 59 ‘burst. But, if you’re lucky enough to find a blondie, then it’s going to be worth a lot more. All other things being equal, I would say that a blonde 59 is worth one and a half times as much or around $50,000. But, something else happens when you look at 345s. In 1959, there were 449 sunburst 335s made and 32 blondes. According to Gibson, there were no red ones. There were also no red 59 ES 335’s according to Gibson. I know of four red 59 ES-345s (I owned one of them for a while) and 3 red 59 ES-335s. So, which is worth more…the red ones or the blonde ones? You would think the red ones but no, it’s the blondes. A blonde 59 ES-345 is a very rare bird and I know of one on the market for $85,000. I will be listing another in the next couple of days (for a lot less). But consider that I listed my red one on Ebay for $25,000 and it got NO bids. Zip. Zilch. Nada. It was almost mint and had a pair of zebra PAFs and still…no bids. Want my theory? Well, even if you don’t, I’m giving it to you. The reason the very rare red 335s and 345s come in so far below the blondes is that over the life of the line, reds are pretty common. Why should I pay $40,000 for a red ’59 when I can get a ’60 for around half that? Over the course of the “Golden Era”, which I consider 59 through early 65 for 345s, there are a little over 1,000 red ones. There are only 50…count’em, 50 blondes. The “Golden Era” for 335s is 58-64 but there are 209 of them. Is a blonde 345 worth more than a blonde 335? It’s 4 times as rare. The answer is no and I’m not sure why. I guess that 335s are more than 4 times as popular as 345s. I’ll take this one step further. I know of 3 sunburst 355s. They don’t command a premium that is commensurate with their rarity but come up with a black one and woo hoo, you’ve hit the jackpot. I don’t know how many black ones there are but I know Keith Richards has one of them and that alone is enough to kick up the price into the stratosphere (not the Stratosphere). Sometimes it’s kind of futile to try to force order into the vintage guitar universe. This is one of those times. Some things just don’t make rational sense and we still have to accept the it’s “just the way it is.”
Here's one of those 50 blondies. This one is a transitional 59 into 60 so it still has most of the 59 features and a 60 serial number. There are only 18 '60's. Check it out in the "For Sale" section. I'm lucky enough to be consigning this one for the owner.
Good points and illustrations about rarity not always being the prime mover for desirability. Rarity is hard to pin down and define. “Rarity” as in overall quantity made, or made with a “rare” color or finish, or made with “rare” time-specific features (i.e. pickups, bridges, and woods)? Or even “rarity” as in only a few examples of a a model remain. I really love late 50’s/early 60’s Epi’s; especially Sheratons and Coronets. Even though Epi’s from that period were made by the same guys at the Gibson’s factory in MI, priced about the same as Gibson’s, but produced in much smaller quantities compared to their Gibson cousins, Epi’s are less desirable and less valuable to most people. Just the way it is … another rarity conundrum. Or why do ’58/’59 ES-335’s sell for far less than ’58/’59 Les Paul Standards? As you said, it’s not because of rarity. Having access to experienced third-party advice is always a good thing … as sometimes the “asking price” is far different from the “selling price”.
I like the old Epiphones as well and I’ve watched Coronets go from less than $500 to over $3000 in the past 7 or 8 years. I bought a 61 Crestwood in 2000 for $550. I paid over $5000 for my 61 Wilshire (which is one of my favorite guitars ever. There are something like 110 of them. Even though the early Wilshire is the only Gibson made with a stop tail and Tune-o-matic from 1961-1968, they are tough to sell (and tough to find). Nobody has ’em. Nobody sells ’em and nobody wants ’em. Except me.
“Nobody has ’em, nobody sells ’em, and nobody wants ’em, except me”. Yep. Sorry to keep drifting off point, but remember how popular Epiphone’s were in Europe? Epi’s popped up everywhere … from the Beatles to the Stones to Paul Weller’s Jam to Oasis and so on. And now, Southside Guitars is offering a “Model One”, made by Frye Guitars in the U.S., that’s a remake of a ’59 slab Coronet, but with a HB p’up instead of a NY p’up. What was that about imitation and flattery?
I know Ben and Sam at Southside (I got my Wilshire from them) and they really do appreciate these. They have a couple of “modded” Coronets and the “Model One” is new to me so I’ll have to check it out next time I’m in Brooklyn.