Inherited a Violin. But torn with what to do with it?

ElectroBlaster

ElectroBlaster

ElectroBlaster

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My late father loved his Guitars. A few months before he passed away he went and bought a Stradivarius Violin from a place that also does professional work, restoring etc. Then he passed away and I was given his collection of Guitars and the Violin.

I know that I will never learn to play it, thinking I could put it away and keep it but I am fully aware this instrument will never get the justice is deserves whilst I own it. I want to sell it, but I really do not know where to start? Am I even allowed to discuss such things here?

I do not want to get rooked, pretty much not interested in Ebay. I had a really bad experience selling a pair of Zeiss binoculars a while back, so not wanting to repeat that one!

I have full proof of ownership etc. Thinking about changing the violin into some hardware synths, drum machine etc.

I am stuck what to do... :(
 
Apparently only 512 Strad violins still exist.
A Stradivarius in good condition is worth an amount that would see you live well for the rest of your life.

I think you would need to talk to a specialist dealer/auction house.
Sotheby's and Christie's would definitely be interested in a decent Strad, they have expert appraisers, and one of their instrument sessions may be your best bet for a good sale. If it really is a Strad it would be well worth the travel to take it to them.
 
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Safetytrousers said:
Apparently only 512 Strad violins still exist.
A Stradivarius in good condition is worth an amount that would see you live well for the rest of your life.

I think you would need to talk to a specialist dealer/auction house.
Sotheby's and Christie's would definitely be interested in a decent Strad, they have expert appraisers, and one of their instrument sessions may be your best bet for a good sale. If it really is a Strad it would be well worth the travel to take it to them.
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That is my best bet tbh. I could even approach the people who did the work on it. My dad bought it from Devon Strings Workshop, in Exeter. They appear to restore and do lots of work on these things. I cannot work out if my dad bought it from them after the work was done, or he bought it then he got them to do the work.
 
I wouldn't sell it personally, but you could get it valued, insured etc.

If you are selling, I am sure some auction houses can do it for you.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I wouldn't sell it personally, but you could get it valued, insured etc.

If you are selling, I am sure some auction houses can do it for you.
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I am going to get it valued and checked out. I cannot believe my dad would have spent an insane amount on such a thing, basically my mum and dad seperated many years ago and he never quite recovered, so never put down proper roots, but he did graft and earn't very good money. It is possible he did spend out on this instrument!

Just need to get on the phone and find somebody trustful and good to look at it.
 
If it's a genuine strad, there's no way the shop would have sold it to your father unless he was prepared to stump up thousands and thousands of pounds. Possibly even hundreds of thousands. It's probably a high quality Stradivarius style copy to be honest, there's millions of them about.
 
robfosters said:
If it's a genuine strad, there's no way the shop would have sold it to your father unless he was prepared to stump up thousands and thousands of pounds.
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And the rest. Those things are worth millions. There's no way it's legit. OP's dad was taken for a ride, I'm afraid.
 
ElectroBlaster said:
That is my best bet tbh. I could even approach the people who did the work on it. My dad bought it from Devon Strings Workshop, in Exeter. They appear to restore and do lots of work on these things. I cannot work out if my dad bought it from them after the work was done, or he bought it then he got them to do the work.
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Yeah, the Devon Strings Workshop in Exeter sounds a likely repository for a genuine Stradivarius.
 
surely given the rarity a genuine stard would have a cert of authenticity? if it's fake, maybe you want to think about sueing the shop for fleecing your granda!
 
Here is mine which I got from a car boot sale a few years ago. I can't play it but I lent it to an expert. Sounds alright I guess? It's all I could afford at the time.

 
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