Paolo Soprani - Information and valuation for 2 accordions

[accordionnewb]

Hi all,

A family member recently passed away and I need to figure out a value for these two accordions.

For the small red one, I cannot find anything that looks the exact same for sale anywhere. I've checked local ad webistes (in Ireland) and eBay etc.

I have no information on tuning or anything else. The only possible relevant info is that the black one was bought brand new in 1979.

 

[Ventura]

in US dollars $1000 for the black.. it is nice but nothing special

for the red, $1500 to $2000 as it is a true Paolo from the
"golden age" as we say.. the original factory.. built during
the period their legend was being earned

they just don't make 'em like that anymore

but all accordions THAT old need refurbishing, so the
selling price will reflect that after it gets examined..
i recommend having it appraised by a pro

 

[Pipemajor]

in US dollars $1000 for the black.. it is nice but nothing special

for the red, $1500 to $2000 as it is a true Paolo from the
"golden age" as we say.. the original factory.. built during
the period their legend was being earned

they just don't make 'em like that anymore

but all accordions THAT old need refurbishing, so the
selling price will reflect that after it gets examined..
i recommend having it appraised by a pro

Is the "blue badge" the sign of an original from the golden age or are there other clues?

 

[Ventura]

IMHO the badge is meaningless..
as i have said in the past, badges are ornaments and
have nothing to do with the construction of a model..
a badge is not part of the technical specifications

a badge is an afterthought, and while it may be a clue
to someone who lived and worked inside the factory, there
is no possible way to determine any meaning from a badge
outside of guesswork and inference decades and now
nearly a century on

the case gives more info than the badge, but it may or may
not be the original case

the way the bass strap is attached, the shape of the bass plate,
the type of grill the shape the way it is mounted the bellows frame
the screws and other hardware used the depth of color the
color itself the piping the plastics certain shapes the overall look

 

[tcabot]

Going by UK prices, the black will probably struggle to fetch over £400, imho. It's "just another" old mid-range musette box. And nothing is selling here right now. Don't know if Ireland is doing much better economically.
It looks great on the outside, but unless the insides have been overhauled, or at least serviced recently, a professional overhaul will likely cost more than the end result.

Red Soprani should find a buyer in no time. I've seen these go for anything between £600 to £3,000, but I really don't know the details that set the more desirable ones apart from the rest of them.
Try Melodeon.net forum for the red one.

 

[Dingo40]

Is the "blue badge" the sign of an original from the golden age or are there other clues?

I've heard the blue badge is the one to go for.

 

[OuijaBoard]

I'd suggest trying melodeon.net. There are folks there who are super knowledgeable about the different eras and permutations of the vintage two-row 8-bass Paolo Soprani bisonoric button boxes aka melodeons used in Irish trad, usually two rows a semitone apart. Yours is most likely a B/C, but that's not 100% guaranteed, there are other semitone tunings. The red Paolos do tend to be B/C. The examples I've seen with your specific grill pattern design have switches. Yours does not, I'm guessing it's fixed MMM tuning. Yes, there are eras identified with the badge color and this or that would be loosely known as a golden or less golden era. Reeds, whether the soundboard is wooden, stuff like that. But the bottom line on quality will be specific to the individual example, what's inside, and the condition of what is inside.

Not sure where you are in Ireland, but Sean Garvey in Dublin is an accordion centre. There is also Martin Quinn in the north.

 

[OuijaBoard]

This FB group is titled "Traditional Irish Button Accordion." It also includes some very knowledgeable people re vintage Paolo 2-rows. It's a private group, you'd ask to join. I don't think they're exclusive or anything.

Traditional Irish Button Accordion

www.facebook.com

 

[Scuromondo]

The black one is not from the most desirable period of Paolo Soprani production. Still, it is a four-reed Italian-made accordion, with cassotto, and with at least TAM reeds. In the US (assuming, as always, that the hidden interior condition matches its external appearance) an accordion like this would sell for at least $1000 privately; a reputable dealer would probably ask double that.

 

[tcabot]

@Scuromondo What makes you think it has cassotto? Unusual (and in many cases counter-productive) for a musette box to have it.

If it has cassotto & at least TAM reeds, it will probably sell for about £600-800 over here, depending on condition. Don't know how many TrumpCoins that translates into.

 

[Scuromondo]

@Scuromondo What makes you think it has cassotto? Unusual (and in many cases counter-productive) for a musette box to have it.

If it has cassotto & at least TAM reeds, it will probably sell for about £600-800 over here, depending on condition. Don't know how many TrumpCoins that translates into.

The only hint that it has cassotto is it has two bandoneon switches—one of them has a “/“ symbol—which generally, I think, distinguishes between which M-reed (in-cassotto vs. out-of-cassotto) is being selected.

 

[tcabot]

@accordionnewb can you take the grille off and entertain us with a photo of the treble levers?

 

[accordionnewb]

Thanks for the input folks. The red one has been sold locally for €2,000.

I've no interest in shipping the black one anywhere, so I'll just advertise it locally and see what kind of offers come in.

Great to have a resource on the web like this for people like me who haven't the slightest clue about accordions!

 

[tcabot]

Is this a good time to remind you that there's a big "Donate Now" button on this forum's home page?

 

[Tom]

Congrats Newb! I second tcabot’s sentiment above. Show some love and respect, this site is free to use, but not free to maintain and our admin is one helluva nice generous guy.

 

[Ffingers]

Congrats Newb! I second tcabot’s sentiment above. Show some love and respect, this site is free to use, but not free to maintain and our admin is one helluva nice generous guy.

Seconded, Tom.
It surprises me that not more of the contributors/accessors of this formidable forum are "Site Supporters" when the time, costs and energy to facilitate its existence is evident.