When you want to know how much something you own is worth, you can find out in various ways. When the item happens to be a piano, there is a bit more to consider. The piano is too big to take for an appraisal and it is also an expensive item, so you want the most accuracy possible. You can determine what your piano is worth if you are willing to invest some time.
Piano Blue Book Serial Number
What is the year of manufacture for an Everett piano with the serial number 50120? I have a Kimball piano with the serial number B00121 clearly carved into the backboard, but I can't find that serial number in the blue book. The serial number is 565700. 'Like CD-60, a single Steinway can have as many as three sets of numbers. The case number, a letter followed by four digits - K0862, for this piano - is assigned when the rim is bent and is used to track the piano at the factory.
Buy 'The Piano Book' by Larry Fine. This book offers an up-to-date list of prices of current pianos that are both new and used. It also has pertinent information on piano pricing and discount information. This information should be very useful when trying to find out what your piano is worth.
Hire a piano technician who can come to your home and look at your piano. He will know what to look for and can give you a realistic price. Usually he will also provide you with written proof of the appraisal.
Compare your piano to other pianos. Compare more than appearance alone. Include quality, durability, current market supply and tone. Look in the newspapers for a similar piano that is being sold or that has sold. Compare your findings to help determine the worth. You can also look online at sites like Craigslist, under 'pianos for sale.'
Locate a piano that has recently sold and is as close to yours as you can find. A used piano is usually worth half of what it was when new. Then subtract any cost of needed repairs and multiply that price by .33. This is not the best method, but many use it to get a value.
Look in an piano Blue Book to see what your piano is worth. You will need the serial number, the date and the manufacturer name.
The following list of numbers represents the date of manufacture followed by the piano serial numbers. The letters ‘sn’ mean serial number.
Piano Manufacturer: Kurtzmann
1900 sn-13000 1917 sn-61000 1925 sn-86000 1933 sn-97000
1905 sn-25000 1918 sn-65000 1926 sn-89000 1934 sn-97300
1914 sn-46000 1922 sn-77000 1930 sn-96000 1938 sn-107000
Piano Manufacturer: Lancaster
1956 sn-160000 1959 sn-169000 1962 sn-180000 1965 sn-191000
1957 sn-163100 1960 sn-172000 1963 sn-183000 1966 sn-195000
1958 sn-166000 1961 sn-176000 1964 sn-187000
Piano Manufacturer: Laughead, Gordon
1948 sn-4100 1952 sn-7500 1955 sn-9500 1959 sn-13800
1949 sn-5000 1953 sn-8200 1956 sn-10100 1960 sn-15000
1950 sn-5900 1954 sn-8900 1957 sn-10960 1964 sn-22130
Piano Manufacturer: Lesage (Canadian Affiltate sn- Aeolian)
Piano Blue Book Serial
1960 sn-36000 1967 sn-47000 1975 sn-56500 1982 sn-65800
1961 sn-37050 1968 sn-48000 1976 sn-58000 1983 sn-66300
1962 sn-38600 1969 sn-49500 1977 sn-60000 1984 sn-66750
1963 sn-40300 1970 sn-50500 1978 sn-61200 1985 sn-67300
1964 sn-42000 1971 sn-51500 1979 sn-62700 1986 sn-67730
1965 sn-44000 1972 sn-53000 1980 sn-64000 1987 sn-67905
1966 sn-45500 1974 sn-54500 1981 sn-65500 1988 sn-70000
Piano Manufacturer: Lessing
1900 sn-23090 1913 sn-56000 1917 sn-109500 1924 sn-171000
1910 sn-39000 1915 sn-90000 1918 sn-118000 1925 sn-180000
1911 sn-47000 1916 sn-99500 1919 sn-127000 1927 sn-196000
Piano Manufacturer: Lester (Betsy Ross)
1948 sn-175000 1951 sn-209000 1954 sn-241000 1958 sn-299700
1949 sn-181000 1952 sn-220000 1956 sn-272000 1959 sn-308800
1950 sn-193000 1953 sn-231000 1957 sn-280000 1960 sn-324400
Piano Manufacturer: Love, Malcolm
1956 sn-160000 1959 sn-169000 1962 sn-180000 1965 sn-191000
1957 sn-163100 1960 sn-172000 1963 sn-183000 1966 sn-191800
1958 sn-166000 1961 sn-176000 1964 sn-187000 1967 sn-191950
Piano Manufacturer: Lowrey
1963 sn-349000 1967 sn-449000 1971 sn-463000 1975 sn-519000
1964 sn-364000 1968 sn-421000 1972 sn-477000 1976 sn-533000
1965 sn-379000 1969 sn-435000 1973 sn-491000 1977 sn-528325
1966 sn-393000 1970 sn-449000 1974 sn-505000 1978 sn-541325
Piano Manufacturer: Marshall & Wendell
1900 sn-26500 1930 sn-111000 1938 sn-128500 1948 sn-137900
1910 sn-43700 1934 sn-118000 1940 sn-132900 1950 sn-138020
1915 sn-52600 1935 sn-120900 1941 sn-113510 1951 sn-138090
1920 sn-63200 1936 sn-123600 1942 sn-137300 1952 sn-138104
1925 sn-10620 1937 sn-126100 1947 sn-137800 1953 sn-138130
Piano Manufacturer: Mason & Hamlin
1900 sn-11800 1947 sn-53500 1965 sn-69100 1974 sn-77493
1910 sn-19100 1948 sn-55000 1966 sn-69949 1975 sn-78730
1915 sn-24000 1950 sn-57800 1967 sn-71006 1976 sn-80019
1920 sn-29000 1955 sn-61800 1968 sn-71994 1977 sn-81100
1925 sn-32700 1960 sn-65200 1969 sn-72945 1978 sn-82731
1930 sn-39600 1961 sn-66016 1970 sn-74263 1979 sn-84184
1935 sn-42500 1962 sn-66604 1971 sn-74791 1980 sn-85853
1940 sn-48000 1963 sn-67478 1972 sn-75534 1981 sn-87013
1946 sn-53000 1964 sn-68309 1973 sn-76447 1982 sn-87013
Piano Manufacturer: Mason & Risch
1900 sn-20000 1940 sn-57300 1952 sn-74700 1957 sn-84800
1910 sn-28400 1945 sn-63300 1953 sn-78600 1958 sn-92500
1930 sn-45700 1951 sn-68800 1955 sn-81600 1960 sn-102000
1960 sn-364200 1966 sn-397700 1972 sn-420500 1978 sn-440000
1961 sn-370700 1967 sn-401500 1973 sn-424900 1979 sn-444000
1962 sn-376900 1968 sn-405200 1974 sn-430300 1980 sn-446900
1963 sn-383100 1969 sn-407500 1975 sn-433400 1981 sn-449700