Five valve double-belled euphonium

1957Tim

I know this is a trumpet forum, and my questions for you are not directly trumpet related, but I know many of you play other brass instruments, so I wanted to glean from your expertise on this.

I have a friend whose father was a bandsman back in the day. He has his father’s horn, a five valve double-belled Conn euphonium in silver plate that is in excellence condition, and still in the original case. From what I can determine, it is a model 60I, and was manufactured in 1924. My friend is getting up in years and says that no one is the family is interested in this horn, so he is considering selling it, even though it holds a great deal of sentimental value.

One source I found stated a horn like this is worth well over $3500. I told him that I would ask you guys here at Trumpet Herald for advice as to what his best options are. Where or who can apprise his horn, and is eBay the best place to market it? I’m not a euphonium player, but I thought it sounded and played nice for a horn over 90 years old.

I thank you in advance for your response.

1957Tim

ProAm · Heavyweight Member Joined: 05 Feb 2008 Posts: 949

Old, double-bell euphoniums are not uncommon. ebay has a lot of examples of ones for sale and those that have sold. Checking completed listings I see that many go around $2000. These may or may not match what your friend has.

A 5-valve is a little more uncommon, meaning 4 playing valves plus the bell change valve.

That euphonioum may well be worth $3500 --- but you might have to wait a while to find the right buyer.

Baltimore Brass Company sells many horns on consignment. It is a popular spot for the tuba community to go seeking horns as well as the trumpet community. You'd have to get it to them, but they usually can bring good $$ and have a clientele that looks to them.

Finally, check out the tuba equivalent of TH, TubeNet, at http://forums.chisham.com/ You can search their classified listings looking for similar examples that have sold in the past or join and ask questions/get opinions. Their "For Sale" section is nice in that it allows comments and discussion on the items for sale, which means it can be a valuable resource for information, too.

Good luck! Double-bell euphoniums are interesting, vintage horns.

1957Tim · Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2017 5:49 am Post subject:

Thanks ProAm! I will pass this information on to my friend. He is not in a big hurry to sell his father's horn, but also feels like it should be in the hands of a player rather than just sitting in the corner as a conversation piece.

DH · Veteran Member Joined: 17 May 2006 Posts: 493

I bought a Conn 5-valve double belled in the late '60s and just passed it on last year. I did check ebay and prices were all over the place. It's not rare enough that it immediately gets jumped on, but is rare enough that you need the right buyer.

I talked to a professional euphonium player I would have given the horn to but he wasn't interested.

And of course one of the most important factors is condition