The basic value of 78rpm records in New Zealand
I'm assuming you know nothing about 78s as a collectable, but you
have obtained or inherited an accumulation, or are dealing with a relative’s
estate. I hope this will help in determining a likely value, and maybe
the best means of disposal.
The true value of these old records is best demonstrated by observation
at your local household estate auction house.
Often a box or two of 78s will be sold. Generally these will
hold around 100 records, and they’ll go for between NZ$10 and $30 (USD
7 - 15, GBP 3-10, as at Jan 05). I’ve seen larger boxes of 200-odd
go for $5 and smaller lots of 30 records go for more; but in general, count
the discs and start at 10cents each.
Of course, those buying aren’t interested in getting 100 78s for
10cents each. They’re after a couple of better items for which they
are effectively willing to pay a few bucks each, the other 95 records are
just rubbish to be somehow disposed of. I was at one such sale where
a collector obtained a carton with some 150 records for the princely sum
of $10. After the auction, while successful buyers were carting away
their goodies, he riffled through the box, took out the one record he actually
wanted (and was happy to pay $10, plus GST at 12.5% and commission) then
told me that I could take the rest away for nothing, else he'd leave it
for the auction house to put in their skip.
Another local option is to browse the completed auctions on TradeMe (Music & Instruments, Expired
Listings - I use 78* as my search term). Here you can see what people
have actually been willing to pay for 78s in New Zealand.
To start, consider what makes an individual record worth something in
the first place. This is either the artist (and sometimes just some
titles), or the label. Further, the value of old records is heavily
dependent on their condition. Most records you find will not be in
the pristine condition that record price guides (Docks, Osborne) price
to.
A quick overview of Artists
In general, if you’ve heard of the artist, the record is probably worthless.
This may seem counterintuitive but consider this. If, 50 or more
years on, you know the artist, chances are they were popular and famous
enough to have sold very large numbers in their time, making their records
still common today. Unless for some special reason, the artist themselves
remains collectable today, their time (and audience) has gone and so has
their value.
Collectable exceptions in the artist category are Elvis Presley,
Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Muddy Waters, John
Lee Hooker – in fact most famous Rock & Roll, R&B or Blues artists.
The first three in this list are found reasonably frequently in NZ, the
rest much less so.
Many other artists are both famous and frequently found, but have
no value. These include Frank Sinatra, the Ink Spots, The Platters,
Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Debby Reynolds, Mitch Miller, Vera Lynn,
Bing Crosby (sorry, but it's true), The Andrews Sisters, Ken Griffiths, Perry
Como, most Louis Armstrong.
Dance bands can be collectable but most aren’t, such as Xavier Cugat,
Harry Roy, Savoy Orpheans and most Hotel bands. It helps if the
dance band music is of the 'hot' variety and there is a known vocalist
doing the refrain, such as Al Bowlly. Some good items are found in the
HMV BD- series (note - not the much commoner DB- series).
As with the popular artists commonly found on 10” records, the classical
vocalists from the 12” records also are of little value. This includes
Caruso, Gigli, Tauber, Galli-Curci, McCormack, Clara Butt and so on.
Curiously, it is often the obscure classical vocalists (i.e. ones you’ve
not heard of) that would be more likely to be in demand.
Classical orchestral music, often found in sets in books, is of
no value. Instrumental music on 10” or 12” such as brass bands,
fox-trots and generic dance bands (Zonophone Novelty orchestra, Black
Diamonds band etc) are also of no value.
Jazz music is collectable, but only the true Jazz – not the large
volume of Big Band and Swing music commonly found and often thought of
as Jazz. Thus Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Harry James, the Dorsey
brothers, Woody Herman etc are generally of no value. Early Jazz
performers on period records such as King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, Kid
Ory etc are worth something, but chances are you’ll never see them ‘in
the wild”.
So, without having to carefully examine every record for artists
and song, how can you quickly determine if you have anything of value?
The same way a collector like myself would – by a quick flick through
the pile.
Record Labels
Common records are on common labels. Here in NZ these are HMV
(red label), Decca (black), Regal-Zonophone (red & green), Parlophone (purple), Capitol (yellow), Columbia (black). These were the labels usually
met with in the 40’s and 50’s – where there are few records of value,
and boxes of which are now coming through estate sales. If
your box seems to be composed of these labels, with the common artists noted
above, and nothing unusual strikes your eye, then you have a $10 box. Sorry.
However, because so many records fall into a small set of commonly
met label designs, anything out of the ordinary is easily spotted.
Older (pre WW2) labels that may indicate that something exciting is in
the box are Winner, Zonophone, Piccadilly, Angelus, Apex, Operaphone, Embassy, Victor, Summit and Broadcast. Modern labels that can
indicate a less common series (and thus possibly more interesting records)
are bright blue HMV, RCA (Elvis),
Brunswick, Esquire (modern jazz).
Some local record companies are collected here in New Zealand, even if
much of the actual material is not very exciting. These labels are
Tanza, Stebbing and Zodiac especially. As with the
artists, most people are aware of the major label brands (HMV, Parlophone,
Decca etc). If your box has plenty that aren’t these, this
is a good sign. Mind you, a box full of slightly worn Winner xylophone
solos is still rubbish!
Likewise these earlier English, American & European labels,
if found in any number are a good indicator of some potential collector
value - Guardsman, Velvet Face, Electron, Regal, Gramophone Monarch,
Gramophone Concert, Beka, Fonotipia, Pathe, Gennett, Okeh, Paramount and
anything in a foreign script. Edison Diamond Disc records (1/4"
thick) are sought after by those who have the right type of player - don't
try to play these on a standard steel needle gramophone. These, like early
Pathes, are vertical cut (the needle oscillates up and down) rather than
the normal lateral cut (side-to-side).
These seems to be a bit of a local market (mainly in Australia though)
for C&W (Hank Snow, Tex Morton, Slim Dusty, Smilin' Billy Blinkhorn
etc), which often are on the Regal-Zonophone label. These sometimes
go for around $10-20 each. If you have a box of C&W, then good
luck - ebay may be an option for you. You can search ebay for all 78rpm
records being sold from Australia - look in the Advanced Search options,
but get the Completed Auctions to see what things actually sold for, if they
sold at all - don't be driven by the often hopeful prices being asked.
Sleeves are also a good indicator. If the box of records is
sleeveless, it is highly likely to be valueless – no-one previously has
felt they deserve any care and even if good items, they are likely to
be damaged by rubbing against each other. Conversely, if the records
are in neat sleeves, they’ve been cared for over a long period, implying
they have some residual value and are also likelier to be in better condition
too.
Some record labels have collector value regardless of the artist
or tune. These should be immediately obvious to you also, as it is
the appearance of the label that is of interest. Picture discs (Vogue,
Saturn), small-size (7” and under), multi-coloured pictorial labels (ERA,
Bel Canto, Parlophon) and primitive very early records (Berliner, Zon-O-Phone).
A special class of record is the 'special recording', or acetate
record. These tend to have an aluminium core with a black acetate coating,
and were used for one-off or very low volume recordings, as they were
individually lathe-cut rather than being pressed in a mould. Their
labels are usually hand-written or typed. Examples can be seen elsewhere
on this site (78rpm records
pressed in New Zealand). Despite their individual rarity, value
is very low as most are poorly recorded amateur efforts, or someone's wedding
for instance. They are also frequently unplayable as the coating dries
out and cracks badly.
I have created a list, by Label and Series, to try to give what I regard
as acceptable prices for 78rpm records in New Zealand. This is a mix
of what I've seen individual items sell for, and what I'd be willing to
pay for one I wanted (regardless of artist or tune) in Excellent condition.
See the List here. (700k)
Caveat: All the above is going to be mostly correct
most of the time. This does not mean that you can't demonstrate someone
on ebay paying sizeable sums for a Beethoven concerto on a specific set
of 12-inchers, or someone else buying Comedian Harmonists on Australian
HMVs for $30. These are exceptions, and if you can perform the research
and locate the keen collector for a particular record you have, well
and good. This article assumes you have neither the time nor the
inclination to do all that.
Condition
A note on condition. A record described as VG+ or V+ (Very Good
Plus) isn’t – it’ll have noticeable extra surface noise, and some greyed
'stressed' grooves. The whole grading scale has been degraded over
time. Common fatal faults include cracks, edge chips encroaching
on the grooves and worn grooves – these show up as grey rather than black.
Heat, moisture and chemical damage are common – people tend to store records
in the garage or under the house where things get spilt on them, or mould
attacks. These are worthless. A Elvis record with some greyed
grooves, or a hairline crack, or an edge chip is worthless – they are
plenty of much better copies out there. Record collectors, and price
guides, work at E (Excellent - virtually no trace of wear or use, shiny
black appearance, minimal surface noise.)
Selling & Shipping
Selling the records in bulk, if nothing special, is an option.
This can be through your local auction house or through an ad in your
local free buy/sell mag (like Trade & Exchange). Don’t bother
with a paid ad in the newspaper – chances are it’ll cost more than the records
are worth. Using the local online auction sites, especially TradeMe is a good option if you live
in a major city. Someone will travel a short distance for a bulk
lot but you’ll not be able to post them – they’re heavy.
Selling any individual special records through TradeMe (or ebay
if there is international appeal and you’re up to catering for that)
is a good option as long as you know how to pack them safely. A
single 78 in the post is very fragile and vulnerable. A
very good article, by Bryan Wright, on safely shipping 78rpm records is
at Claxtonola.com.
A longer pair of very useful articles about valuing, and selling,
78s can be found on Tim Grayck’s site at www.gracyk.com He
is talking about US records in the US market but it is useful nonetheless,
especially if you can find over here any of the items he notes as being
valuable! His comments on Dock’s price guide are especially pertinent.
Locally, many titles in Docks can be found here, but on local labels.
These pressings, even from the same master, are just not as valuable as
the original.
Playing the records
Finally, don't be tempted to play any good records on an old wind-up
gramophone with a steel needle - this can seriously damage the record,
especially the more modern ones, even if a new needle is used for each
play. Leave the use of these up to the professional, or for records
with no intrinsic value. If you have a newer 3-speed turntable (easily
obtained for next to nothing at your local auction room, TradeMe or Trade
& Exchange - Garrard, Radiola and Fountain seem common out here), then
these will work fine, and new stylii are still obtainable for most common
brands. You may find that keeping those old records and actually
playing them will introduce you and your kids to a whole new world of music!
I’m happy to hear from NZ’ers who think they may have something
of interest – note that I’m not generally going to offer to buy them
from you - but I can give you some advice on what you may have.
I'm also happy to hear from those with feedback and improvements for this
article.
Adam Miller adam78@clear.net.nz
April 2007
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since Jan 2005
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