GUEST: It belonged to my father, and he bought it new in 1937 from a music store in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
APPRAISER: Uh-huh.
GUEST: And he played it in a band for quite a few years, and then when he entered the service, it kind of sat around for a long time.
APPRAISER: So you remember the instrument being around the house as a child?
GUEST: Oh, yeah. I was never allowed to touch it.
APPRAISER: Ah. So can you tell me what's been done to it since you had it?
GUEST: Well, my dad played it up until 1986. And at that time it was... The frets were wore out, and it would buzz and... When he tried to play it and everything, so I contacted Martin Guitar. I was lucky, because there was a gentleman here in Oklahoma City that could repair it. And he rethreaded it and reset the neck and has a couple of little minor cracks in the side that he repaired. But while it was in the shop, my dad passed away, so he never got to play it.
APPRAISER: Oh, I see. It's a 1937 Martin D-18. At the time, it sold for around $75.
GUEST: Right, yeah.
APPRAISER: It was the simplest of this Dreadnought guitar. It was the least ornamentation that you could get. But as time has gone on, it's proved to be a very desirable guitar amongst professional musicians. There have been some things changed about the instrument. If you look on the top here, there's a couple of holes that have been filled.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: There are some repairs on the side, and some finish touch-ups, but still, there are no cracks in the instrument, it's structurally sound, obviously had a very good repair job, and is in great playing condition. Has anyone given you any indication of its real value?
GUEST: No, not really. I know there's a couple of guys at music stores that have offered me $300 or $400 for it, but I knew it was worth way more than that.
APPRAISER: Usually, when an instrument's had some alterations, it affects their value greatly, but being that this is such a prized instrument for its sound, it still is of significant value. In pristine condition, this instrument would bring somewhere in the neighborhood of $18,000 to $20,000.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: But still, it's a very nice thing, very desirable. I think its value would be $12,000 to $14,000. It is the right year and the right model. If it were two years later, its value would be half that.
GUEST: Really? (laughs) Pretty good investment for $75.
