| My find wasn't in a pawn shop, rather in front of the town music store. The owner was closing up after almost 75 years in the same store front. During the going out of business sale he put several oaken barrels in front of the store, full of pieces, parts, etc. Anything in any barrel, 25 cents. I dug through all 5 he had out one day and picked out a silver cornet. It wasn't until almost 25 years later, after this cornet served as a wall hanging in our first house and was rather unceremoniously relegated to the outdoor storage shed, that I had it chem cleaned and polished it up. I called someone in South Dakota, at the American Museum of Music (at least I think that's what it was) and she told me my Conn Victor New Wonder, with tuning mechanism, is one of only a handful known in burnished finish. I told her about the bell crease, broken welds, etc and she still told me, 10 years ago, that is was worth around $500! Not a bad return on a quarter investment! |