How old is a 210 year old violin worth?

Question

My family has had this violin in our family for generations, and it's from 1798. The inside label reads, "Johann Gottfried Hamin. prope violino correfpondent. Romani remona. 1798"

I can't find anything online- the make is obviously not American..

Help?

Answer 1

It really depends on the condition, the quality of the instrument, the construction, and the popularity of the maker. To know for sure you should take it to a professional dealer.

Answer 2

alot,

more than $5 as the moron who answered first seems to think.

Answer 3

Our school band had a big cardboard box full of old violins.  They all had little faded stickers inside saying they were made in Cremona.  Some of them were by  Antonio Stradivarii,  some had labels saying  'Niccollo Amati' etc etc.

Most German junk shop fiddles used to be made with similar stickers in them, dating the violin to Eighteenth Century Cremona.

On the other hand, many quite good violins were made modelled on instruments made by famous makers, and these labels are sometimes 'tributes' and were not intended to deceive.   Also, it may be genuine - the name 'Hamin' is not a maker name which immediately jumps out, and there is and always has been an instrument making tradition in the area.  Violin makers can be prolific, Stradivarius himself made thousands of instruments, of all types including harps, cellos etc.

Answer 4

I have a very old violin made in 1810 that is a copy of a very old and famous violin made by a German man (his family business still continues today).

Under the bridge, the old and fading glued-on piece of paper says 'Dominicus Montagnana Sub Si.' When my dad had it repaired for me because I wanted to play it, the violin specialist guy said it was worth around £4,000 (I live in Australia though, he gave us the British estimated price).

What you should do is take it to a violin/cello specialist. That's what I did with my violin after it had been repaired and I found out that the violin specialist down at 'Auburn Strings' was correct. The violin is definitely going to be in the thousands.

Good luck!

-Tim :]

Answer 5

i'll give you $5 for it.