Antique piano - J. gerstenberger

[meidav]

we have an old piano which my parents bought for me in the late 70s (it was antique back then as well). the maker is J. Gerstenberger liegnitz (hof pianoforte fabrik). it also has the family crest of the hohenzloren - sigmaringen family which ruled romania through 1947. i believe in was made in the late 1920s or early 1930s. we are looking to sell it now.
any thoughts about the precise age?
any thoughts about the value?

[Colin Nicholson]

We can't give valuations here on this forum (please read writing in blue box above).
You will need to contact a piano tuner to tune it, and assess it's condition; there will also probably a call-out fee.

The value will be roughly assessed by its condition of the casework, design, and the internal mechanism (i.e. hammers, strings, tuning pins etc.) - after a close examination - so impossible to predict here.
There does not seem to be any serial numbers or any info about these pianos, and we can't estimate its age without seeing it.... bit like saying "I have an old Ford Cortina"?? - so I would suggest that you attach a couple of photos (can only post one on each reply - so click on post reply again to upload 2nd photo)

Can you send one photo of the whole piano front - lid open, and another one with the front (music rest) board completely removed - look inside, there will be 2 wooden turnbuckles. 2nd photo of the mechanism from the front.

Depending on the mech. design also, if its over-damped/ straight-strung, they fetch very little - and the trade won't touch them, and at auction - from £0 - £50 if the above design.... but this just guess work until we can see it.....

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

Upload some photos showing the inside and out and we'll be able to give a rough valuation.
As Colin suggests, it is probably worth next to nothing in terms money but if you want it assessing as an instrument then you'll need to hire a local tech to inspect it for you.

[Colin Nicholson]

The following image should give you a rough idea about the internal mechanism.
This pretty much sums up the overall condition of the 'workings' - no matter how nicely polished your piano is. Depending on the type & design of mech, will also affect its value quite dramatically. The images are taken from different pianos and are only examples....
Photo A: Fully restored over-damped piano (customer paid alot of money!)
Photo B: Overdamped piano unrestored - not worth much, if anything.
Photo C: Under-damped mech. in good condition.
Photo D: Under-damped mech. in poor condition - note broken tapes...

Colin