All About Accordions – Accordions Ireland. Ireland’s Largest selection of accordions, shipped worldwide. Piano accordions, Button accordions, Concertinas. We also stock a range of keys from B+C, C#D D+G etc, and can order any key if you are buying a new accordion.
The Cody Firearms Museum has the original factory ledgers for serial numbers 1 - 353,999, and they can provide you with a factory letter at a cost of $60. For serial numbers 354,000 - 2,600,000 I can provide the accurate year of manufacture, andin many cases, the month of production. The Winchester dates of manufacture information contained on the websites oldguns.net and armscollectors.com is not accurate, and was based on the flawed works of George Madis. Value information can not be determined without a detailed hands on inspection & evaluation, as there are simply way too many different variables that can affect the collector value. I just purchased one (last weekend) for $100, then turned down an offer for $200Monday. It largely depends on the condition of the rifle.
(It is ultimately worth what a buyer is willing to pay) I think the current book value is $75-$215 depending upon condition. These were mass produced rifles, BUT WELL MADE. There were nearly 400,000 (365k I think) produced from 1940 to 1962.
Mine was made May 1960. There is a date code on the left side of the barrel at the rear. It is two letters only, (mine is 'k G' =May 1960) Manufacture date decoder can be found at remington.com. These are quite accurate (near match grade) rifles due to the bolt action and long barrel. I put a scope on mine today and went to zero it in. I only had 15 minutes left at lunch but after four rounds had the next eleven within a golf ball or squirrels head 1-1/4' group at 50 yds. (I didn't have a very stable rest).
Mine has the grooves for scope mounting, but from what I have read, the earlier models do not. They also remade these rifles from something like 1965-1967 but I think these rifles had the long ramping front sight like would be on a Nylon 66. Bottom line is: It's not currently worth as much to a collector as a Winchester 52, because there are so many out there in closets and cabinets, and the 52 was match grade and far fewer numbers exist. The short answer: whatever someone is willing to pay for it! As a general rule, collectors pay more than players. It all depends on the cosmetic condition and uniqueness or sc arcity of the model.
I've watched them for years on Ebay, selling for as little as $10 and as much as $250. NONE OF THESE BOXES HAVE BEEN REFURBISHED. A refurbished instrument would sell for more money, but most people do not believe they are worth restoring. I believe some of them are, because they play on par with Hohner products from the same era (I also prefer a stepped keyboard).
At auction, the average Koch 2-row diatonic in fair to good condition usually sells for $40 to $75 depending on its condition and how many people are bidding. Most Koch boxes I see are totally trashed from years of neglect so their value is basically as spare parts.
But some Koch accordions featured ornate Shutz Marke cabinets and some had hand painted scenes on the cabinet, perhaps privately commissioned. If you have one of these in good condition, it might bring a little more money at auction but don't count on it by placing a high reserve or you will frighten away potential bidders. It's best to set a reasonable opening bid and let the market decide. In my experience, Koch piano accordions are more rare than Koch button accordions.
No Koch accordion is younger than 1929 because the company was absorbed by Hohner. Koch also built a limited number of instruments for the Montgomery & Ward department store, which were sold under the Concertone brand. I've been researching old Soprani Inc. Accordions, which seem to have been sold in America in the 1930's, likely made in Italy. The answer to your question completely depends on the condition of your accordion. If it is in perfect condition cosmetically on the outside, that doesn't mean it is worth anything to an accordion collector who wishes to play it.
Old accordions are typically in need of a great deal of work on the inside to make them reliably playable and in tune. If there is any rust on the reeds, the instrument is likely worth very little, as rust is like cancer and renders the reeds useless. Rust on reeds cannot be properly removed. The other two expensive issues are the wax inside, which typically breaks down over time, and reed tuning. Unless the instrument has been waxed in the last few years and tuned, it will cost a minimum of $1500-$2500 to re-wax and tune. If, however, the instrument is cosmetically nearly perfect, and the interior looks clean and rust-free, collectors may wish to purchase it and restore it.