Vintage Sax Valuations

Completely updated April 2026

Intro	Condition is Everything	What is a Vintage Sax?	A Vintage Sax Today	An Antique Sax	Vintage/Antique Sax Values	How to Determine Value
Uncommon Brands/Models	Student/Intermediate Models	Mps/Replacement Necks	Monetary vs Playability Value	Other Factors Affecting Value	Missing Keys	Missing Necks
Relacquers	Replating	Counterfeits & Other Copies	Conclusion	Related Articles

Determining a vintage saxophone’s value

Did you inherit a vintage sax you want to sell? Is there a vintage sax you are especially interested in buying? How do you determine what its fair market value is? To paraphrase a former well-known vintage saxophone dealer I know: The value of a vintage saxophone is what a seller and a buyer can agree upon in price.

I adore my friend Steve, but have always maintained that before these 2 parties can agree on a price, both have to do some research. That’s what this article is about. It is one in a series of articles I have written over the years that is really important for anyone who is doing research about saxophone valuations. Make sure you read them all if you want to avoid making a potentially costly mistake—there are articles for both buyers and sellers: read both.

Over the past 30 years of buying and selling vintage saxophones for personal and professional use, I have personal experience with each and every aspect of the following points. In other words, I am not just pulling them out of them out of my you-know-what.

Condition is everything!

The title here says it all. There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to a saxophone’s condition, and it takes a trained eye—and sometimes a trained repair technician—to determine what condition a vintage instrument is in. Regardless if you’re buying or selling, here are some of the most important tips to consider:

• Are all the parts there? (Alto-tenor: Neck, body tube, bow, bell. Bari-bass: Neck body tube, upper bow, pig tail, lower bow, bell)
• Does it have a proper fitting case?
• Do the serial # on the body and neck match? (Only applies to those makes & models that have matching ones.)
• No missing keys?
• Is its finish original?
• Dents, dings, bends, etc. anywhere?
• Does it play?
• When was it in the shop last? Which shop? Which tech?
• When was its last overhaul?
• BTW, with vintage horns you are generally not playing the horn the way it was originally built. You are playing last overhaul performed.
• For a true vintage horn you are better off to sell it as it as is. Why? You will NOT recoup your $$.
  • Whoever buys it will likely want to have their tech restore it themselves.
  • Good overhauls cost A LOT: North of 1K for an soprano, alto, or tenor, and much more for a bari or bass.
  • Repadding alone will generally not add value to your true vintage horn, since even that too has gone up in cost.
  • Putting cheap pads and resos—or the incorrect ones—on a horn, just results in the buyer having to have the work redone when they buy the horn, therefore reducing the price they are willing to pay to begin with.
  • If you try and repad the horn yourself, don’t expect to get more $$ for it.

What is a vintage saxophone?

A vintage sax has to check all these boxes:

A model that is no longer in production anywhere.

An instrument that was built as a professional model, to meet what were deemed the professional standards of its day.

It should have value as a playable, professional make and model today; or have value as a collectible make and model. For instance, yup, a Selmer Mark VI is a vintage saxophone. So too is a Olds Super, or this HP Evette Shaeffer bari.

The horn should have maintained its original value, adjusted for inflation, or increased in value.

For me, vintage saxophones have the same meaning as a fine wine: It is an excellent vintage. Or, if you prefer to think in the terms of cars, a 1933, Mercedes-Benz 380 is a vintage car, while a 1977 Ford Pinto will never be anything other than old.

So no, a Mexiconn is not a pro model horn. Nor is a Pan American, the Weltklang, or even a blue label B&S. Or, or, or, all the shite being flogged by sellers online as supposed “pro model” vintage horns. This is where doing your homework becomes vitally important.

Warning. Beware of the following!

• Don’t go to 1 source: go to many.
• Google the hell out of the brand name/model.
• Take everything you read on online forums and Facebook groups with a massive dose of salt. (See next point.)
• Don’t take the word of online group members unless they are well-respected, and are known as experts in a particular area.
• Look up speciality sites like the Conn Loyalist, and yes, Bassic Sax, that specialize in the brand you’re interested in.
• As a general rule: vintage American stencil saxes were NOT pro models, whereas most European brands were.
• And then get ready for exceptions. There are lots, eg: Tonekings vs The New Kings, Couf Superba I vs. II, various bass saxophones, etc. etc.

What is considered a vintage saxophone these days?

The Selmer Mark VI is universally considered to be the most modern, vintage horn. It’s successor, the Mark VII, is also still seen as a vintage horn.

If you look at the other manufacturers who were making saxophones of that same general level of quality, the general agreed upon cut-off for vintage horns is around 1980. In other words, pre-1980s pro model saxophones are considered vintage, while anything newer than 1980 is not. So a used Super Action 80 Series II alto, tenor, bari, etc is just that: used.

What is an antique saxophone?

The saxophone world has not really come up with a definition of antique saxophone. However, the experts in the antiques world all say the same thing:

According to the antique industry, the common consensus is that for a work to be accurately labeled an antique, it must be at least one hundred years old. This rule is for any item, including furniture and more delicate goods.

Source: Laurel Crown

In saxophone-land, it is very clear that both my 1886, Evette & Schaeffer baritone, and Boosey & Co. alto (exact production date unknown) are both antiques. However, so are  Buescher True Tones from the 1920s, and Martin Handcrafts, Conn New Wonders, and so on, and so on. In other words, these really primitive keywork saxophones are really antiques these days.

What do I need to know about vintage/antique saxophone values?

Since the 2007-09 recession, vintage horn prices have cratered, and never rebounded to their pre-2007 prices. Unless the brand name Selmer is attached to them of course.

I have been tracking vintage saxophone values since the late 1990s, and although there are regional differences, for the most part, this has held true. Over the past few years we have seen so much geopolitical and supply chain instability, that our cost of living has risen, and by far and away the majority of people simply don’t have the disposable income they had even 10 or 15 years ago.

What does this have to do with vintage saxophone prices? In short: a lot.

• The simple fact is that unless something is perceived to be extremely valuable—such as a Selmer Mark VI, etc.—even those with $$ are not willing to spend a large amount of it on something. Why?
• Vintage saxes—yes, even a pristine, 5 digit, Mark VI tenor from 1955—are simply not as prestigious as say a Stradivarius violin, viola, or cello.
• One can pick up a professionally restored, Adolphe Sax original saxophone for under 10K. Why?
• See previous comment about Stradivarius.

Saxophones are not necessities in life, they are luxury items. Even if a player is a pro and the horn is indeed a necessity, the most they will need is 2 of any voice they play regularly (main and a backup).

So while you might have a beautiful horn in your possession, that doesn’t necessarily translate into high monetary value, or even desirability. Even that Mark VI might not be worth as much as you think. (See below)

So how do I go about determining my saxophone’s value?

• Use Excel, Google Sheets, or other spreadsheet program to track something along the following:

Date	Source URL	Seller	Make & Model	Serial #	Year	Finish	Condition	Notes	Pics
Date you see it for sale. This is important if you doing a longer study. You can see how the price changes over time.	Copy it so you can find it again!	Seller’s name. Note if it’s a private person or a shop.	Should be the same as yours	Should be in the same ballpark as yours	Roughly the same vintage as yours	Note if its been relacquered; replated. Note if its lacquered, silver plated, nickel plated, gold plated, etc.	Here make note of what the seller says about repadding, overhauls, etc. Also what you can see re: dents, neck pull down, etc. etc,	Here you make notes of everything else you think is important.	I save any photos to a different folder in my hard drive. Maybe you want to make a note of your folder name or directory pathway so you can find them again?

• Look for ads with lots of pictures.
• The condition of the instrument in the ad should be the same as yours, since condition adds or subtracts A LOT of value.

1. Go to eBay.
   1. Type the particulars about your sax into the search bar
   2. Scroll down the results page
   3. In the left column scroll down to Show only, and check the Completed Items box
   4. Look for Completed ads with pictures that show the same make/model as yours. Note as well if it sold, and what it sold for. (If a sales price was noted.)
   5. You’re going to want an average. Record a list of D. The larger the list, the better.
2. Go to Reverb.
   1. Type the particulars about your sax into the search bar
   2. Click the All Filters tab at the top of the results page
   3. Scroll down to Show Only and check Sold Listings
   4. Compare the Sold horns to yours that are the same make/model as yours, in similar condition.
   5. You’re going to want an average. Record a list of D. The larger the list, the better.
3. Start searching dealer sites for the same make and model instrument as yours in the same condition as yours. Use dealers that have pictures on their websites. Here are the most well-known to get you going:
   • • Get A Sax
     • PM Woodwind
     • Bellingham Wind Works
     • World Wide Sax
     • Sax Quest
     • USA Horn
   • Record the particulars for each horn on a separate sheet in your Excel workbook. The larger the list, the better.
   • Pro Tip: Think dealers charge too much of a premium? Nope. MOST don’t. Most dealers realize that eBay and other online auctions can provide about the same quality and a lot more quantity at a good price, so they’ve got to be competitive—and why so many have eBay and Reverb shops. This means that in most cases a dealer’s horn is either
     • A) In better condition, or
     • B) Priced competitively.
     • As a matter of fact, dealers will often list their horns for less on their online shops than they do on eBay or Reverb. Why? Auction fees.
4. You’re going to want an average, so add up the numbers mentioned in blue text in #s 1, 2, & 3. Take an average, and that is approximately what your horn is worth.

What if you have a really uncommon brand/model?

If you have something like a Hammerschmidt Klingsor, Eugen Schuster, or other vintage European model that is hard to find many (any) sales for, then you may have to cast your net wider and look to the broader, online saxophone communities for info. Cafe Saxophone is a forum I generally recommend. It is based out of the UK, and many of its members are European. But remember the first cautionary notes I posted at the top.

There are of course lots threads and groups on Reddit and Facebook. But if you don’t know saxophones well—and even if you do, but don’t know a specific brand—a big warning sticker Warning!! Bullshit in the monitor is closer than it appears. needs to be placed on anything you read until it’s been verified by multiple someones who know what they’re talking about.

What if the instrument I have is a student or intermediate model?

• General rule of thumb: if you have an old, used student model sax, it is worth squat. The exception being the older, Japanese-made Yamahas like the YAS, YTS 21 & 23, (and the instrument is in good shape). These old timers are worth about 1/3 of their original purchase price—and no, not adjusted for inflation.
• For intermediate models the rule of thumb that applies is that the horn is worth about 1/3 of its original purchase price.

What about mouthpieces and replacement necks?

• Some replacement necks cost A LOT of $$.
• Certain vintage MPs cost A LOT of $$.
• Do your homework—same steps as outlined above—to find out what you have, and see if there is any value in them.
• Used reeds have $0 value, and are in fact quite disgusting. (Link to updated reed article upcoming.)

Note: The original neck, or a proper replacement neck is a must of a sale, but if a horn has multiple necks, they need not all be included. Mouthpieces need not be included in the sale at all.

However, for historical purposes it makes sense to keep things together if it is a collector sax. It adds a bit of value presently, but more importantly, allows future saxophone collectors/historians a chance to collect a complete specimen.

EG: When I sell a vintage sax that has its original case, MP, lig, cleaning supplies, etc, I sell it in its entirety, as well as the replacement case it might live in now.

Monetary value does not equal playability value

Here are 2 examples that illustrate this perfectly

Example 1

One of the most undervalued vintage saxophones out there is the Hohner President. It was designed by Max Keilwerth, the brother of Julius, who oversaw the President’s production at Hohner—a company more commonly thought of for harmonicas and melodicas than saxophones. And as much as love my vintage JK saxophones, I also love my MK horns.

A point by point comparison of a Hohner President to a Toneking of the same era, will show that the President is every bit the saxophone the Toneking is. Techs of have worked on both will tell you that in many respects that President is the superior instrument. However, you can pick up it for considerably less than a Toneking. Why? Name recognition is in part a reason for this.

Bottom line, if you are looking for a really good, solid, vintage, pro model alto or tenor, at a good price, name alone should not be the deciding factor. (Although it may impact both the buying and selling price. See example 2 below.)

Example 2

Conversely, as soon as a vintage sax has the name Selmer Paris on it, people seem to be willing to pay top dollar for it—regardless how old it is. No one will fork out BA or Mark VI dollars for a Selmer Modele 22, with 1922 keywork, handling, and intonation. However, look no further than Selmer Paris’ own ReWIND page and you can find all kind of gems. This is what I found when I checked the page on March 31, 2026.

NB: I converted the default Selmer EU price to USD to make it a bit more meaningful for my North American audiences. However, this will fluctuate wildly on any given day. When I checked back a day later, many of these horns had gone up in price by hundreds of USD.

Type	Model	Serial #	Year	Finish	Price USD
Alto	Modele 22	42xx		Silver plated	$2,078.53
Alto	Large Bore	12277	1930	Silver plated	$2,748.87
Alto	Cigar Cutter – Super Sax	16287	1932	Silver plated	$3,472.26
Alto	Balanced Action	30834	1942	Silver plated	$6,295.40
Alto	Super Action (SBA)	488xx	1950	Silver plated	$5,738.87
Alto	Mark VI	1957xx	1972	Silver plated	$7,214.58
Tenor	Modele 26	8228	1928	Silver plated	$3,954.52
Tenor	Balanced Action	328xx	1946	Silver plated	$8,970.00
Tenor	Super Balanced Action	19176	1952	Lacquer	$13, 406.78
Tenor	Mark VI	122xxx	1965	Lacquer	$9,066.45
Tenor	Mark VI	163872	1969	Lacquer	$7,523.23
Tenor	Mark VI	202xxx	1971	Silver plated	$8,478.10
Baritone (low Bb)	Adolphe Sax	778	1933	Lacquer	$6,606.94
Baritone (Low A)	Series III	7379xx		Lacquer	$9,162.91
Baritone (Low A)	Mark VI	3063xx	1980	Lacquer	$12,152.91

Yes, these lovely early 20th century Selmers have wonderful tone, but so do a dozen other brands, and half of those have better intonation, and a couple even have better keywork. Bottom line: You’re paying for the name.

Other factors effecting a vintage saxophone’s value

Missing Keys

If a vintage horn is missing a key, it is in fact a parts horn. Period. Sell it as such. As a playing horn it is worth $0.

If it is a horn that is extremely common—a Buescher TT, Conn NW, etc, etc—then you might be able to find it a fitting part and get it affixed to your horn, but maybe not. Many times the part might not fit quite right, or be the correct finish thereby decreasing the value of your horn. Unless the horn has some great sentimental value to you, what’s the point?

Missing Necks

If a vintage horn you have is missing the neck, it is worth $0 as a playing horn. It is either a parts horn, or wall art.

If you want to replace a neck for a vintage horn you have, you have a few options, but they come with a number of caveats:

1. If your horn is common you can try and buy a replacement neck from the same make and model on eBay, etc. However, a couple of points here:
   1. Even the same make & model may have had different socket/tenon sizes during the course of their production run, so what you buy might not fit, and may not give you proper tone, response, intonation, etc.
   2. Some companies stamp their necks and horns with matching serial numbers. If the serials are different, this will devalue the instrument.
2. You could try to buy an after-market neck from a company like Gloger. They are my go-to source for replacement necks. However,
   1. If you have an rare, unusual, etc. horn sans neck, Gloger might not have a specifications necessary to make a neck for your particular horn. You will have to contact them and ask if they can help you.

Again, I have to ask: unless the horn has some great sentimental value to you, what’s the point?

Relacquers

A general rule of thumb about relacquers: they are valued lower than original finishes. Period. This is especially true for any Selmer saxophones.

Of course a number of variables need to be kept in mind when discussing relacs:

1. Not all relacquers are created equal. In the distant past owners used to send their horns back to the manufacturer for full overhauls—which often included relacquers. This is why we see Martins, Conns, and yes, even Selmers, with factory relacquers.
   1. Over time these relacs have aged like any lacquer will, and sometimes the only way to tell it was refinished is by the less-than-crisp engraving.
   2. Sometimes factory relacs included recutting of the original engraving, which makes it extremely difficult to tell these days if a finish is original or not.
2. There are different ways to strip and prep a brass instrument for refinishing. Modern methods usually involve chemical stripping and hand buffing, as opposed to the old standard of mechanically stripping and buffing the brass. The result? Minimal brass loss, and less risk of tone hole damage with modern methods.

Bottom line: Any horn that has had a new lacquer coat applied at some point in its life, is less valuable than one in similar condition with its original finish.

Replating

Gone are the days when replating your sax in silver or gold may have increased its value. The simple fact is that replating your sax is pretty much cost prohibitive these days due to increased cost of precious metals.

Anderson Plating in Illinois, has for generations been the hands down choice for entire horn plating. Then of course there is the re-engraving, etc. to contend with, not to mention the disassembly and reassembly. Replating is generally done as part of of an total overhaul. I would encourage you to contact my colleague Chadd at World Wide Sax if you have any questions about plating.

Also, there is of course Curt at Music Medic. Check out what this sax restoration specialist writes about replating. Music Medic offers plating as an extra when they do an uberhaul. I have played a Martin Committee III tenor they uberhauled. The instrument was simply sublime. The work that comes out of Music Medic is fantastic.

Bottom line: Unless the horn is of great value to you personally, it is simply not worth it to have it replated.

Counterfeits, Knockoffs, etc.

These days the Internet is chock-full of any type of fake you can imagine. Counterfeits, knockoffs, replicas, copies, and fakes of famous brand name saxophones like Selmer, Keilwerth, Yamaha, and Yani are no longer relegated to shifty sites like Alibaba, AliExpress, or Temu. These days, eBay now routinely allows fraudulent and illegal sales of fake items with seemingly 0 repercussions for sellers.

If you own one of these, they are worth nothing. They are available on sites already mentioned for dirt. EG: the Mark VII shown here is $550 US. If you own it and want to sell it: don’t. It’s unethical. Make a planter out of it. Spray paint it and call it art. Whatever you do, keep it out of circulation. And yes, in most countries it is in fact illegal to trade in counterfeit goods, second hand or not.

Over the years I have written a number of articles on these types of fakes and how to spot them. One is already updated, the others are upcoming. Watch this space for the updates as the get published.

So to wrap then

Yes, this is A LOT, and to be quite honest, it’s not even all of it. However, it’s enough that it will give you a great place to start your research.

Now you can also see why I say Steve’s comment that I re-quoted a few times throughout this article, while true, is in fact quite nuanced, and requires both parties have a good degree of information and understanding about the vintage saxophone in question.

That’s what this article is all about. If you are the owner of a vintage saxophone, this will give you the tools necessary to begin the process of determining its value. Yes, it can be quite time consuming. This is especially true if you have a lesser-known or obscure brand/model.

To get a fair market value on your vintage horn takes time, effort, and in all cases, research—regardless of the brand/model. You can’t just just pull these numbers out of thin air. That said, it never ceases to amaze me that people try to do just that.

I can’t tell you the number of times I have seen sellers who try to sell a vintage sax for tens of thousands of $$ more than another sax of equal vintage, make, and model, all because it was it was owned by player X, or used on recording Y, or album Z. More often than not these auctions do not successfully result in a sale.

At the end of the day it is up to you as a buyer, seller, or simply owner, to educate yourself about what you have. Between this, and the related articles listed below, you can be well on your way to finding out what you have.

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Related articles that will aid in your research

Avoid a costly saxophone sales mistake

Tips on how to buy a used saxophone

How to sell an unneeded vintage sax

Stencils and second-line saxophones

Buying On-Line: On-Line Safer Sax Shopping (updated version upcoming)

Counterfeits & other copies (more articles coming)

How Can You Tell A C Melody From A Bb Tenor Sax? (updated version coming)

HP vs LP: How can you tell? (upcoming NEW article)