• Before you send us an email
  
  
• Stock answers to your questions
• Do-It-Yourself: Rough Guidelines
• Accordion History
• Chart of Desirable Features
• Formal Appraisals
• How to Check out the Condition of a Used Accordion
  
  
• Used Accordion Catalog
• Used Accordion Repair Info
• Archived Email About Buying Old Accordions
• How to Ship an Accordion

The most common email request received at HMT goes pretty much like this:

Pearl, ivory, gold, and silver. Sounds like it would be very valuable.

In reality, probably not. To begin with, the materials are celluloid on top of wood, more celluloid, plastic, and base metal with a chrome finish. Second, much more information is needed before even a rough estimate of the value can be reached. Below I offer a long list of items that must be checked on an accordion before its true condition can be determined.

Why I Do Not Perform "Quickie" Ballpark Appraisals

I can't really answer any of these questions myself without seeing the accordion in person.

Most of the time, I direct these email and phone inquiries to this very page, and the answers are usually as follows:

They don't make that model anymore, and I don't know how old it is or any history on it. It would cost you far more to buy a comparable new Italian made accordion with similar features than it would to fix up the accordion you dragged home from the flea market. You probably don't want to invest the hundreds of dollars in repairs it would take to fix up the accordion you dragged home from the flea market. Even if you have the repairs done, you might not be able to sell it at a profit. On the other hand, maybe you want to try repairing it yourself. For consignments, trades, and further info, see How to Sell an Instrument to HMT

Informal guidelines and tips for estimating the value of your accordion:

That covers about 95% of the used accordions out there, which are commonly found in antique stores, at auction, in music stores, pawn shops, garage, yard, and estate sales. To compare prices, see the list at Used Accordions For Sale, or search through the used accordions offered on eBay, looking for accordions of a similar size, features, country of origin, and condition as yours.

About used accordion values in general:

There is no "blue book" for old accordions. The value of a used accordion depends not only on its age, quality and condition, the reputation of the manufacturer, and what features it offers, but also will vary widely depending on who the buyer is and where the buyer lives and what the accordion market is like there. A piano accordion in Washington, DC will sell for more than the same instrument will bring in Albuquerque, NM. An accordion that I myself might pay $100 for, because it has features that I personally find desirable, might only be worth $40 to the next guy, who is looking for a completely different profile. An appraisal is only a likely estimate of the value; in the end, the accordion is only worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

History

If you are more interested in the history of your accordion than its value, here are some URL's to check out:

Henry Doktorski's book "The Classical Squeezebox"
The Golden Age of the Accordion is a book that covers the early days of U.S. accordion history from the 1900's through the 1950's, with also a short chapter on the early history.
http://www.accordions.com/index/his/his.htm general history; history per country
http://www.auschron.com/mrpants/accordion.html some interesting tidbits

Desirable Features for Piano Accordions

Next to great tuning, fantastic sound and playability, the number one thing to look for is a respected brand name (see List of Accordion Brands). But beyond that, there are a number of things to look for that make for a more popular accordion, at least here at HMT. Each one of these features you can identify on your accordion increases its salability in our market, assuming of course there are no negatives to counterbalance it, such as wheezy reeds, a leaky bellows or cracked keytops. Some of these features are rarely found on modern accordions and are unusual even on older ones -- I have italicized these.

Thus, from looking over this chart, one could assume that a plain looking 41/120 piano accordion with only 2 reeds in octave tuning and 3 or fewer registers, with either no brand name or an obscure brand, with plain white ladies size keys, old straps and a beat up case, and none of the other special features mentioned, will not command much of a price even if it seems to be working OK. Such an instrument might retail at HMT for about $200 unless it was reconditioned at our repair shop, in which case we would add on for the servicing cost.

Design Features	Cosmetic features
48 (4x12 only), 60, 72, 80, or 96 basses, min. 34 trebles
3 or 4 treble reeds (voices)	Pearloid keys
Musette tuning (2 or 3 reeds)	Pearloid outer shell (body)
5 or more treble registers	Wood, esp. carved or figured
Rocker registers (dual function)	Inlays or decorations
Palm master shift (keyboard)	Fancy binding or trim
Full size keys (3/4" width)	Diamante (rhinestones)
Waterfall keys (sloped ends)	Deco or "diner" style grille
functional bellows lock switch	"Antico" grille scrollwork
Internal mic; onboard controls	Bass scrollwork
Lightweight (17 lbs or less)	Engraving
Visual shift indicators	No missing pieces
Heavy duty straps, backstrap	Case in good condition

How to Obtain A Formal Appraisal

If you would like a formal appraisal, please bring the accordion to the House of Musical Traditions. We cannot guarantee same day appraisals; there may be up to a one week delay. The cost of an appraisal is $50. If you pay for repairs exceeding this amount, or if we purchase your accordion, there is no charge for the appraisal. Sorry, no phone appraisals. Please bring as much of the following information as possible.

1. Contact & Background

• Owner's name, address, email and phone#
• Date of purchase and purchase price, if known
• Appraise at replacement or current value?
• Maker & model, serial #, country of origin, etc.
• Age of instrument if known

2. Features

• Body color & material (example: Red pearl celluloid)
• Width of white keys; keyboard width (piano accordions only)
• Material of keys or buttons (plain white celluloid, ivory grain celluloid, pearlized celluloid, shell, bone, metal, plastic, etc.)
• Number of treble keys or buttons
• Number of bass buttons (accordions only)
• Number of treble and bass registers (switches, stops, couplers: accordions only)
• Number of treble reeds per note (voices) / # of bass reeds on accordions if known
• Are there 2 or more treble voices in the same octave? If so, what is the tuning: wet, medium, or dry?
• Special features (fancy decoration, palm master switch, built in amplification, tone chamber, switch indicators, custom fitted case, back pad, custom straps, etc.)

3. Condition

• Is it in good tune?
• Condition before and after damage/loss
• Condition of case and straps

How to check out the condition of a used piano accordion:
Except for the section about registers, this advice also applies to button accordions and concertinas that have no switches. Have a notepad and a pencil handy, so you can take notes as you go along, especially when you get around to checking out the reeds.

• Check the condition of the carrying case. Look for broken or missing hardware. A musty smelling case or bellows is an indication that the instrument may have been improperly cared for and stored, probably in a damp basement. Not only is this smell difficult to get rid of, but it's possible that mold has caused damage to the wood and leathers on the interior, and the reeds may be rusted.
  
• Check the body of the accordion, looking for chips missing from the corners, cracks in the celluloid or wood, scratch marks indicating abuse, etc. Check the condition of all the leather straps, particularly the ends that go through the metal holding brackets on the accordion, top and bottom. If the straps are very worn, it's safer to remove them entirely than to risk their breaking while you are wearing the accordion.
  
• Check for missing or broken hardware - bellows clips, bass feet, strap hardware, register switches, etc.
• Check the bellows all around, look for signs of wear, especially on the folds at the bottom and facing the chest of the player (belt buckle wear). Check the bellows corners, look for metal corners that are missing or coming loose. Depress the air release button and open the bellows, looking for dirt, dust, and lint deep between the folds, and also in the inside corners. The air release button on a piano accordion is found poking through the bass cover at the left hand side, towards the top of the accordion when held in playing position.
  
• Check the Compression: Unhook the bellows clips (usually, 2 metal or leather straps that hold the bellows closed, top and bottom of accordion. On some button accordions, these are on the front and back). Hold the instrument, or strap it on, and pull gently on the bellows without depressing any buttons or keys. There should be a very strong resistance. With a concertina, it is safer to hold the instrument by one end and allow gravity to open the bellows, which should happen very slowly. If it is easy to open the bellows, or if you hear or feel air hissing out anywhere, you have a problem with leaks. There will not be enough compression to drive the reeds properly. It may be the bellows themselves, or the gaskets, or a loose reedblock, or something else internal, such as your air release button being stuck or the valve pad not seating properly. Obviously, if you also hear notes sounding and you are not depressing a key or button, the instrument needs repair.
  
• Look at the keyboard edge on, particularly the white keys. What you're looking for are keys that are out of level. A properly levelled keyboard is unusual in a very old instrument, unless it has been well cared for. If you rest a ruler flat across the tops of the white keys, it may make it easier to see the ones that are off level. If the keys are only very slightly out of level, it may still be playable, but in most cases, the irregularity will impede performance.
  Very old keyboards may have crazing, cracking or chips missing from the keytops, so that you can see the wood beneath. While this may not necessarily hamper every player, they do reduce the value of the accordion.
  
• Strap on the instrument so that you can play it and check the reeds. Put your arms through the shoulder straps (one strap goes over each shoulder) so that the piano keys are to your right and you bear the weight of the accordion on your shoulders, and slip your left hand through the bass strap so that your wrist is between the strap and the left side of the accordion (take off your wristwatch first). If it is a button accordion, the side with the most buttons is usually the right hand side.
  
  • Your goal is to listen to one treble reed at a time, if you have a separate register for each voice. Often the single-reed registers (switches, couplers, stops) will have a single dot on them, like this one below, which denotes the "clarinet" reed.

• Some 2-voice accordions have no registers at all, because they only make one sound: 2 reeds together (either musette or octave tuning). That makes your job a little harder, because you have to listen very carefully for problems as you play each note. If one note sounds much thinner than all the rest, it is probably because one of the two reeds that should be speaking are silent.
• If there are registers on the treble side, you can start by activating the lowest voice first (usually the "bassoon" register, if your accordion has at least 3 treble registers). For register identification, see Treble Voices - How to Tell What the Switches Do. An abbreviated chart is given below. This is a typical bassoon register marking:

• Let some air into the bellows with the air button on the left hand side, which should be near your left thumb.
  
• Now play the lowest note on the treble side by itself, first by pushing in on the bellows, then by pulling out. Try this at different pressures. Listen for any funny sounds, squeaks, buzzes, spitting, hesitation or sourness. Listen also for the relative tuning of the push and pull notes - they should sound precisely the same. If you hear a problem, write down the note name and number of the key (for example, F-1, if this is a 41 key accordion, or C-1, if it is a typical 12 bass accordion with 25 keys) and which bellows direction has the problem. If you don't know the note name, just give its number.
  
• Proceed all the way up the keyboard in this manner, until you have checked every treble note on this register in both bellows directions, both white and black keys.
  
• Now find the register that plays the middle voice (often called "clarinet"), and do the same thing as you did with the bassoon register. It may look like this:

• Then repeat with the high register ("piccolo"), if you have one. You can expect to hear some problems on the higher notes in the piccolo register, on an old accordion. It may look like this:

• If you have 2 (or 3) middle voices, you need to also listen to the musette register (it often has 2 dots side by side), like this:

• After you've checked out all the individual treble reeds, activate each of the switches above the keyboard to see that all the different registers are working. Besides the 2-reed musette shown above, you might have any of these (with other possible nomenclature):

LM	MH	LH	LMH	LMM
harmonium	celeste	organ	accordion	bandoneon

MMH	LMMH	MMM	LMMM
musette	master	musette	master

Now set the bass switch (on the left hand side of the instrument) to the "master" setting, if you have bass couplers, and do the same thing with each button: hold down a single button, pull out with the bellows, push in, listen for problems. There probably won't be any, but there may be some sticking buttons, that don't pop right back up after they are pushed. It's also very common to have a bass note that sounds all the time. Obviously, this is not right and will need to be repaired, not to mention that it will make it impossible for you to verify any of the treble notes or check on bellows compression.

• You're all done checking it out as far as its physical condition goes, but if you're a player, you'll want to play it for awhile to listen for the intonation, overall tone, volume, dynamic range, balance between the left and right sides, and especially the action.
  
  Do the keys spring up smartly at the end of the notes, can you do rapid staccato triplets or is the action too mushy, are they quiet or is there a lot of clicking, is the action too high or too low for your style, is the key width comfortable for you, are the black keys too thin, are the white keys too short, etc.
  
  If there is another person with you who can play it, sit a few feet away and listen to them. Often an accordion sounds quite different when you're playing it yourself.

Don't need a formal appraisal, but want to consign or sell an instrument?
Try our Used Instrument Services page.