Bosendorfer appraisal

[ETomlinCF3]

Dear List,

I got a call to look at a Bosendorfer today that was 6' 7".  It was baby blue
on the outside, inner rim and some detail was Sepele.  The lower part of the
lid was also Sapele.  The piano was a designer grand from 1958. The nose of
the piano slanted down to the floor about 8 inches lower than one would
expect.  The action was paralell to the floor.  The rake of the hammers
compensated for the strings slanting downward.   The piano was made to look
"modern".  The space age look was "in" in the art deco era of the 50's.  The
plate was a soft grey blue.  All the strings were individually tied and had
matching soft grey blue punchings to match at the hitch pins.  The customer
would like an estimate of value.  It was purchased from the Seatle area....Del
do you know of this piano?  I have an idea it is worth $40 - 50k to the right
buyer.  The piano plays like a dream.  Warm and dark yet has good sassy attack
when you lay into it hard.  The hammers need light reshaping and very little
regulation.  The knuckles looked good and I reconditioned with teflon powder
and brass brushing.  Strings had a little rust in treble where kids may have
strummed the strings and left a oily residue to discolor the strings.  That
came right off with a quick 3M scotch bright pad.  Please help if you can.  It
was fun to see this piano.  They want to turn it quick to make a fast buck.  I
think they paid $24,000 for it.  Am I out of line to say the piano has a
replacement value of say $50,000?

Thanks for your help,

Ed Tomlinson
Vancouver WA