GUEST: Well, it was my grandfather's. I can remember him playing it when I was a child, when I was nine and ten years old.
APPRAISER: Right.
GUEST: It's mine now. Inherited it from him.
APPRAISER: Well, the serial number on the label and also on the back of the headstock tells us it's from 1963.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: And the Hummingbird model was one of Gibson's more expensive acoustic guitars, so this sold for $275 in 1963. And it was their second birds model. There was a Gibson Dove that preceded it. This is South American mahogany back and sides, and a mahogany neck, it's a spruce top, and a rosewood fingerboard and bridge. And it's the earliest form of Gibson's adjustable saddle, so that you could raise and lower the string action without taking it to a repairman.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: And the saddle is actually ceramic. And it's part of what gives a guitar a distinctive tone. And then, of course, the engraving on the celluloid pickguard, with hummingbirds and blossoms, is pretty classy. It's in pretty good condition overall. It's been played a lot. It does have these kind of interesting decals that were added later that didn't have anything to do with Gibson. I would suggest that you leave them, even if you don't like them, because there's a very good chance that underneath them, the top of the guitar is much lighter in color. So you're going to see them, whether you like it or not. But there will be these little blond spots. In terms of the value, in a specialty vintage guitar shop with a little bit of clean-up, would probably be about $3,800.
GUEST: Wow, now, that's surprising. Yeah.
