RolexBenz190E

I got a hold of a Conn Connstellation when I was about 10 years old and I payed it up until I graduated high school. The weird thing is, I can't seem to find the years corresponding with the serial number (GK521719). I have included some pictures. Hopefully some one can help me out here. Last I heard, this trumpet is one of the few that survived from the factory burning down.... That's what some one told me one time, but i don't really know how true it is.

screamingmorris

For vintage Conns up to 1969 we usually go to Conn Loyalist at
The Conn Loyalist

For more recent years look at the paragraph at the bottom of the page at
Lars Kirmser's Music Trader - Conn Serial Number List

It says:
"In March of 1974 an alpha-numeric system was established where the first character (letter) of a serial number indicated the decade; "G" for the 1970's, "H" for the 1980's, etc. The second character, also a letter, indicates the month of the year; "A" for January, "B" for February, "C" for March, etc. The third character (a number) indicates the number of year within the decade (indicated earlier by the first letter). The fourth character (number) indicates the specific type of instrument: "1" = Cornet, "2" = Trumpet, "3" = Alto Horn, "4" = French Horn, "5" = Mellophone, "6" = Valve Trombone, "7" = Slide Trombone, "8" = Baritone Horn & Euphonium, "9" = Tuba, and "10" = Sousaphone. The remaining four numbers of the serial number indicate the production number of the instrument on a monthly basis."

For your "GK521719", the "G" means the 1970's, the "K" means November, the "5" means 5th year of the 1970's (1975), the "2" means "trumpet", and the rest "1719" is the unique serial number for your instrument.

So your Conn trumpet was made in November, 1975,probably sold in some store in 1976.
BTW, Conn moved its factory from Elkhart, Indiana, to Abilene, Texas, in 1971, so your trumpet was made in Abilene, Texas.

I don't know if your Connstellation is a 36B (with a 4-5/8" bell) or a 38B (with a 5-1/8" bell).
See:
The Conn Loyalist
and
The Conn Loyalist

RolexBenz190E

Wow..... That's a bunch of information! Thank you! I bought it for $300 about. I'm sure it's worth less now. How much do you think?

screamingmorris

I just typed you another response, but this stupid Web site refused to post my message because it said that I was not logged in.
Which is stupid because if I was not logged in then it would not have given me the blank form for typing my message in the first place.
And the page that said I was not logged in also said that I *was* logged in in another part of the page.
ARGHHHHHHHHHHH...

I usually save a copy of what I have typed onto the computer's clipboard before attempting to post what I have typed, just in case a screw-up like this happens and what I have typed is lost, but I didn't save a copy this time so I must type the entire thing from scratch again.
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH...

Anyway...

Measure your bell, because a 38B with 5-1/8" bell is worth more than a 36B with a 4-5/8" bell.

Unless your particular instrument has some serious flaw, either cosmetic or functional, it is still worth more than $300.

Connstellations made in Elkhart pre-1970 are worth the most.
Connstellations made post-1985 under the UMI parent company are worth the least.
The ones made in Abilene, Texas, in the 1970's are worth somewhere in the middle.
The reputation for the Abilene factory was that some of the instruments were excellent and some of the instruments were poor, because of quality control problems, so you have to try out a particlar 1970's Conn to see if it is one of the good ones or one of the bad ones.

If yours is a 1975 Conn 38B with the larger bell, I would guess it might sell for $500 on eBay, plus or minus $100.
If it is a 36B it might sell for $100 less.
But that is just a *wild* guess, because prices on eBay fluctuate greatly and unpredictably.

A mint condition 1950's-1960's Connstellation can now sell for sround $1,000 on eBay:
TRUMPET CONN CONNSTELLATION 38 B !!!GREAT PLAYER!!! - eBay (item 160206612814 end time Feb-17-08 19:00:00 PST)
and
1958 CONN CONNSTELLATION 38B SERIAL# 729XXX - eBay (item 200200525142 end time Feb-16-08 10:37:53 PST)
and
1957 Conn Connstellation 38 B - eBay (item 150216075448 end time Feb-16-08 13:31:53 PST)

A beat-up dented one from the 1960's can bring only $300:
Connstellation Trumpet C.G. Conn-LTD. w/ case - eBay (item 130196377068 end time Feb-11-08 16:59:17 PST)

A beat-up 1979 one for $300 at
Conn Connstellation Bb Trumpet...5" Bell - eBay (item 310023253057 end time Feb-20-08 17:16:48 PST)

Did your trumpet come with a Connstellation mouthpiece or a Conn 7C?