info on old # 14 Accordiana

[charleshemnry]

Hi I'm charles a very newbie...tryijng to get some history/information/possible value on my Dad's #14 Accordiana which must be 60 plus years old..seems to work pretty well (I play piano)... if there's anyone with any info on this sorta family heirloom....I thank you in advance

sincerely
charles sherman

 

[Ben-jammin]

Looks prewar. Accordiana was the name Excelsior used for their student and intermediate level instruments but I haven’t seen one so old so may or may not be the same company(usually they say made by Excelsior somewhere) . There are some players that like these older accordions but aren’t usually willing to pay a premium for them as there are so many around and they are all sure to need work to be halfway reliable and sound their best. The reed wax dries out and becomes brittle and won’t hold up to regular use. The cost of paying a professional to restore one of these usually exceeds its value after the work is done (and honestly most players would be better off investing that money in a more modern instrument). I think a realistic value for this instrument would be between $75 to $250 depending on local market and condition.

 

[Ventura]

it does look similar to others i have seen from the New York
excelsior factory, and late 1930's

in it's day, it would have been quite decent quality and
likely sounded nice and played well. since it is a smaller simpler
box, it could be rebuilt re-furbished by someone who
likes it as a personal project, but it is probably not "worth"
having it repaired strictly speaking.. if i ran across one
i would probably try and fix it up some just to hear it