We found my husband's grandparents' record player in the attic. The label is missing and appears to have fallen off as there are two small dots where it looks like something was attached. The stickers are half gone, but there is a date on one sticker on the bottom that has the year 1892. After some research, I believe it is a Victor Phonograph. We are curious as to what it is worth, if anything. There are some springs and gears laying inside the box, so I'm sure it is not in working condition.
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Depending on condition, between $125 and $150.
If it is a Victor, which I am not 100% sure it is--something about the arm makes me lean to it being a Columbia, it could be worth up to $900 if it works, which it does not sound like yours does. I have seen 100 % original Victor items in pristine working condition sell (SOLD prices, not asking prices) for this much in the right market.
Because there are so many variables with these and yours does not have the tags to confirm the ID, I would take it to a reputable antique dealer and have him/her look at it, try to test it and value it for your location.
Last year a client of mine had one he was selling and we did a ton of research and found a number of things that we didn't know.
The biggest thing was that many of these are not all original and that decreases the value--meaning piece A broke in 19?? and the owner replaced a brand A piece with a brand Z piece to keep it going. So you could think you have a Brand A, but you really have a "Franken piece" with brands A, B, and Z.
That is not necessarily a bad thing if you are planning to sell it for parts, but sometimes when you try to sell as is it can decrease the value significantly.
Once the piece is confirmed and tested, and you have the value for your town, you can decide next steps.
I can tell you if you can get it tested and the value is not high as a piece itself, you can sell off the parts for much more than whole if you can carefully disassemble it and verify for the buyer that parts you are selling work. For this process you will need confirmation on the brands of the parts--meaning if they are all original or not AND if they work or not.
There are people who want to keep their machines going and they are willing to pay a lot of money for authentic working parts because they are not make any more and that can keep their machine going for years.
Please post back what you learn!! This is a neat piece!! I hope it is one of the $900 pieces!! That is a nice tidy sum!!
You did not say if the record player is still working or not. It has been stored for years and I am not sure if it was tested or not. If the player is in good condition you should seek help from an auction dealer and take it in there.
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