sandcounty

Hey there, first post here so be nice if the answer to my question is obvious/dumb. What would be the purpose of withholding the exact serial number in an auction listing? Is the seller trying to hide where the horn came from or do buyers prefer it?

Dave Mickley

two reasons that come to mind is that the person either stole the horn and is trying to hide the horn from its true owner or he doesn't want someone to claim it was stolen from him and try to claim it as his own. and I may be completely out in left field.

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formerly known as old geezer Dave
C7
Yam. 231 Fl. 15383
King Master Cornet 295628
Weril Cornet Lo 7535

Darthsunshine

I've wondered the same thing myself. All I can figure is that since most vintange horns are sold without a bill of sale, the idea is to protect the owner from someone coming forth to muddy ownership of the horn. Giving the first few digits allows the buyer to verify vintage, but if someone were going to dispute "title" to the horn they'd have to come up with the x-ed out digits. Of course, it could also be done to obscure proper title, so the true owner could not readily identify the ebay listing. Perhaps others will have better insight.

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Glen Ferguson

1977 LA Benge 3C
1976 LA Benge 3X+
1972 LA Benge 5x
1963 Burbank Benge Eb/D
1959 Olds Amb. cornet w/ Getzen shep crook bell

VetPsychWars

That's pretty much it. The practice probably came from the firearms community where you're obscuring the serial number of your rifle from everyone, including the government.

Tom

oldlou

I think that this is the closest to the truth. There are many 'scammers' arround that would like to lay claim to anything that is not theirs, and to do it without divulging 'their' true identity, and at zero cost on the internet. As an example; if the seller has no absolute written continuous history of the ownership of the horn, he/she are not able to defend their true ownership and just 'might' surrender the instrument to the claimant in fear that they might be looking at litigation. I am very cautious because of that possibility.


OLDLOU>>

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Couturier trumpet
York Master Model trumpet
York Elite trumpet
York Airflow cornet
King super 20 Master Model cornet
King Liberty trumpet
Reynolds Professional cornet
Bohm & Meinl professional trumpet
Besson 10-10 trumpet with Holton M.F. bell
Olds Special cornet Los Angeles
B&H Sovereign cornet
G.R.Band Instr. cornet
Getzen Super Deluxe trumpet and cornet
Getzen Deluxe trumpet and cornet
Many others no room to list

ComeBackKid

What?? You think that we would be anything but nice? We're just a bunch of fuzzy, cuddly bears here...Well, most of us. Anyway, welcome to TM. Don't stop here, go to the 'Introductions and greetings' section and post some background about yourself so we can get to know you. Then find other threads that interest you and throw in your two cents worth.

As far as the serial number issue goes, there are a number of threads here related to that topic. You might do a search and obtain some additional information. One irony that you might notice is that apparently some sellers pick up the practice by seeing other ads with it so they think there is a purpose but then they post a photo of the second valve casing with the number visible. So, not everyone has a compelling reason to do this.

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Come-Back Kid
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(+Revelle, Bundy, Alcazar, & ?)

sandcounty

Ah, makes sense to me. Thanks for all of the replies.