I just happened upon a guy who was about to pawn away a Gibson Les Paul Standard for $500. I gave him the $350 he really needed and said I’d hold it until we could get a valuation.
It’s circa 1982. I don’t know how to tell what condition it’s in, seems good to me, and it’s stored in the original turtle back case.
Similar guitars are in $ 1.1-2.5K range on valuation places and e-bay.
But I have a few reasons to believe that this particular guitar, because of its being some sort of unique last few of some US production situation, or something like that, may be worth 11-15K. (It was originally bought by someone who knew nothing about guitars, but wanted to spend as MUCH as he could on one. Any good salesperson would steer them to the really rare stuff.—And another hear say guy described the importance of this guitar, but it got lost in translation.
So, without extensive research into this field, how can I find out if THIS guitar is special. I have the number off the back of the neck. Is that useful to anyone? Do I really have to have it professionally appraised?
A Gibson Les Paul Standard from the early 80s would be worth, in excellent condition, with about a million disclaimers, around $2,500. There appears to have been a '58 Reissue made in 1982 only that sells for more, up to $1,000 more. That would say “Standard 82” on the truss rod cover on the head stock. Post some pictures, and the serial number would allow us to nail down the year for you. WordMan will have more to say on this.
The loss of the value on this, if it’s true, is explained by the story of how stolen money was used to buy this and many other nice guitars. And that they then, after an arrest and trial, ended up as a partial repayment to the folks who lost the cash. Well, those folks sold most but held a few back. But they just sat there, and the REASON THIS one was held back does not survive.
No other way to be sure - Standard is applied to so many variants and I am not up on the 80’d particulars. If it is a “pre-Historic”. 50’s reissue done before the official Historic series started, it coulld be worth bucks.
I agree. Ask Gibson exactly what the model is, some words to wrap around Les Paul Standard. My vintage price guide has 12 densely packed pages of Les Pauls.
And for Crotalus: No, it’s none of those. I suspect that you are right if you can explain as much as you did about the early 80s market. But I hope to hear from a trader if there are “unique” small groups of guitars that, because of historical production changes, ran in small batches. For all I know that may affect the value to collectors.
My questions are, does that seems logical?
And if so, how do I proceed?
Yup, use the number you have and call Gibson, or check a guide. Keep in mind, even if the original buyer was an idiot, and willing to buy top of the line for no reason than just emptying their wallet, most stores don’t have really rare and expensive stuff just hanging around. They probably just made him pay list for the best Les Paul they had hanging on the rack.
Oh, I believe it was the Pro-Deluxe not the Standard that was discontinued sometime in the early 80s.
Thanks all. I’ll call Gibson to check it out, but I think I have my answer. At least I’ll get the guy more than $500.
If Gibson tells me it’s worth a million, I’ll let you guys know. Otherwise off to e-bay.
It will help you on ebay to know exactly what you have. For instance, there were 15 Les Pauls made in 1982 for a music store in New Jersey that had original PAF pickups. Fifteen of these were made. They can be worth upwards of $8,000. ebay would probably not be the best way to sell one of those. Call Gibson. Then come back to this thread, and maybe WordMan and others can suggest some honest dealers if it turns out you have something special.