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Man Buys Guitar at Garage Sale for $175, Turns Out It's Worth $800,000
UltimateGuitar.com ^ | 7-21-15 | Ultimate Guitar website

Posted on 07/29/2015 7:28:49 PM PDT by aMorePerfectUnion

click here to read article


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1 posted on 07/29/2015 7:28:49 PM PDT by aMorePerfectUnion
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

If it was stolen, then shouldn’t it be worth $0 to the current holder?


2 posted on 07/29/2015 7:36:03 PM PDT by fhayek
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

If I bought a guitar at a garage sale for $175, it would fall apart on the way home.

And yes, where does the stolen property issue come in? Will Yoko sue this guy? That would not surprise me.


3 posted on 07/29/2015 7:38:11 PM PDT by ozzymandus
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To: fhayek

I think it legally belongs to Lennon’s estate. The current owner probably cannot profit from it.


4 posted on 07/29/2015 7:38:59 PM PDT by lastchance (Credo.)
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

Did someone swap out the nut for brass? They really weren’t using brass nuts until the 70s when they became quite popular. Seems odd it would be on an early 60s instrument as stock.


5 posted on 07/29/2015 7:39:17 PM PDT by Blue Highway
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To: ozzymandus

If Lennon didn’t continue to search for it all those years, then he can be said to have abandoned it; and a buyer in good faith can keep it.


6 posted on 07/29/2015 7:40:03 PM PDT by CondorFlight (I)
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

Was this story penned by Yoda?


7 posted on 07/29/2015 7:41:59 PM PDT by The Ghost of FReepers Past (Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light..... Isaiah 5:20)
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To: CondorFlight

The nazis stole a lot of art during the war; descendants of the original owners have to prove that they continued to search for their property over the years, without ever giving up, if the property has gone through several buyers since then.

If they can prove they kept searching, then they can claim the property; otherwise, a buyer in good faith (who may be way down a chain of a line of other buyers and sellers) can keep it.

Ditto, I would think, for Lennon’s guitar.


8 posted on 07/29/2015 7:42:16 PM PDT by CondorFlight (I)
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To: CondorFlight
In a May 2006 article in Vintage Guitar, they talk about these model guitars as well as the Beatles connection.

Gibson J-160e

Check out the comments section where people are asking about John Lennon's guitar.

Judging by the Beatles era the guitar would be valued in 2007 at between $5,500-$8,000.

Vintage Price Value For 2007 :
1954 - 1961 > $4 500 to $6 500
1962 - 1964 > $5 500 to $8 000 ( Beatles Era )
1965 - 1968 > $3 500 to $4 500
1969 - 1970 > $2 100 to $2 500 ( square shoulders )
1971 - 1979 > $1 400 to $1 900
1991 - 1997 > $1 700 to $2 000 ( j-160 reissue )

If this article is correct, and the auction estimated value is 100 times the value based on the person it belonged to. Incredible.

9 posted on 07/29/2015 7:56:46 PM PDT by Blue Highway
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To: CondorFlight

I don’t know. Okay, Lennon didn’t pursue the theft. He had a life to lead. Does that mean it’s OK to steal from others? The guitar belongs to the estate. Criminal activity should not be allowed to profit.


10 posted on 07/29/2015 7:57:04 PM PDT by fhayek
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

Dang....and I thought the new, unopened 1960 Hi-Ho Cherry-O game I bought, at a garage sale, was a find.


11 posted on 07/29/2015 8:01:07 PM PDT by Jane Long ("And when thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek")
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

Ain’t the internet amazing. Looks like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipADNlW7yBM


12 posted on 07/29/2015 8:14:25 PM PDT by Will88
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To: aMorePerfectUnion
I would guess all instruments they had were insured. If so Lennon was compensated and the guitar if recovered would have been property of the insurance company. If it came from a legitimate shop the buyer has reasonably made what would be legitimate purchase. So who would get stuck with the monetary loss {cash value at time of theft}? If the insurance company wanted to push it the owner of the store at that time if reasonable effort wasn't made to check for stolen. If it was listed as stolen at that time on a hot sheet he would be liable to the insurer. Otherwise likely not. Of course that would have been Nevada laws?

I saw something similar on Pawn Stars. A coin I think was bought and it did not check stolen. But when he sent it to be appraised he was informed it was stolen. However the insurance company had already settled with the owner thus the coin belonged to the store.

13 posted on 07/29/2015 8:14:55 PM PDT by cva66snipe ((Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?))
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To: fhayek

I agree with you in principle but the problem is that the guy who profited from the theft has long been paid off and is out of the picture. The guy who bought it now had nothing to do with the theft or any knowledge of it, I’m sure. By your measure, anyone shopping in a resale situation could be held liable if the item they purchase is found to have been stolen. That doesn’t seem right either.


14 posted on 07/29/2015 8:19:14 PM PDT by FrdmLvr ("WE ARE ALL OSAMA, 0BAMA!" al-Qaeda terrorists who breached the American compound in Benghazi)
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

Yeah, but Rick would tell you that it’s such a rare item that the market is very limited, and it’s probably really only going to bring in about $29.95.....


15 posted on 07/29/2015 8:47:35 PM PDT by Intolerant in NJ
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past

Why ask do you?

;D


16 posted on 07/29/2015 8:51:41 PM PDT by Salamander (We're ALL Dixie, now.)
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

bttt


17 posted on 07/29/2015 8:57:55 PM PDT by Liberty Valance (Keep a Simple Manner for a Happy Life :o)
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

The ghost of George Harrison sings,”Taxman, and While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, John says it’s just a guitar,
‘Nothing to get up about!”


18 posted on 07/29/2015 9:00:05 PM PDT by lee martell (The sag)
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To: Salamander

I remember a number of years back the daughter of an airplane pilot had a guitar that Bob Dylan had left on a chartered plane. The daughter settle out of court, compensating Dylan for the guitar. If they had gone forward it was pretty apparent that the daughter would have ended up with nothing.


19 posted on 07/29/2015 9:01:55 PM PDT by glabbe
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To: Blue Highway

Good point ......I can’t tell is it brass or something like bakelite ?


20 posted on 07/29/2015 9:13:19 PM PDT by Squantos ( Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet ...)
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