What are these worth nowadays? (Epiphone John Lennon Casino)

Evo

Not looking to sell or trade, just genuinely curious what these are generally thought to be in the ball park of these days.

It's an Epiphone John Lennon "Revolution" casino.

Not the "inspired by" model, this was a limited edition run of 1965 (the year of the guitar) in the early 2000s from the USA factory. They did a run of the guitar in it's original state as John would have purchased it, and this one after he'd had his way with it for a while (stripped the finish, switched the tuners, and removed the pick guard...I love that Epiphone actually installed klusons first before they switched them out to grovers on these)

The certificate and case candy are all present, there is some light damage as shown in the pictures and the case has a catch missing (more on that later).











There's actually a story behind the light damage, around 10 years ago my house got broken into and most of my guitars and gear were stolen. An Ibanez jem7vwh, fender MiJ Jerry Donahue, USA Washburn, pedal board, recording equipment....all along with TVs, laptops, even my car!

All that they left was a battered squier strat (my first guitar) and this casino purely because they were the only ones not on a hanger on the wall as far as I can tell. This damage was done by the thieves as they cleared out my entire house...but left the most expensive guitar I owned at the time. So I see the scars as a small victory from that day. 

So there you have it, what do we think these are actually worth? I've looked at reverb and was hoping to narrow the field down a little more than "somewhere between 2k and 13k"

All the best!

Musicman20

That’s a stunner!!!

guitars4you

I've sold a few of these over the years - Brand new when they came out and subsequently used a couple of times over the last 2/3 years - I dare say every time I've sold one the price has gone up - To some extent it is hard to put a definitive price on this - If I say 4K, someone might be willing to pay 5K - Yet 13K is just barmy IMO - 2K is to cheap and I've sold them for more than that anyway 

As a guitar that was not artist related then it is a 2.5/3K guitar - As a JL replica it should sell for 4K but if you listed it on Reverb or e-bay for more it would not surprise me if you found a buyer that would be willing to pay more - Sometimes you might have to wait a while for the right potential buyer so your shout 

The issue, to a degree, is that so few are actually listed for sale that someone will test the market place hoping for a higher price hence your comment about 2K-13K - And to an extent that is the benefit of an actual auction on e-bay, hoping that 2 or 3 bidders might drive up the price - Yet equally you might be disappointed if it only made 3K

Many will tell you on FB that it is worth nowhere near 2 or 3K as you can buy a regular USA non JL model, that will do the same job, for under 3K new, so 2K ish used and to a degree they are right - Yet to others this more of a collectors 'work of art' that can be played rather than 'a guitar' - So if you sold it for 5K I would not be surprised but feel 4K is more realistic 

lustycourtier

Very cool. Considering the Chinese version are £1500+ now, £3000 upwards easy. 

Evo

Very helpful guys, thank you!

I almost feel guilty for having it, I'm not a huge Lennon fan and the fact that I could probably sell it and buy a seriously nice used 339 or similar and possible pocket 2-3k in change is almost as barmy as the bloke asking 13k on reverb. 

Fact is, it's a nice casino...and despite my usual chopping/changing tendencies...I've grown quite attached to having it around. 

I imagine (no pun intended) that if a nice Gibson semi caught my eye then a re-evaluation might occur. But for now, it's nice just to get an idea of where they're at. 

roberty

You say you want a re-evaluation, well, you know

Cranky

I paid $1k for a Korean “inspired by” just pre-quarantine (US-made Gibson p90s in it).  I would think that those are up a bit nowadays, and I would think that a bona fide MIA reissue would be worth at least a couple grand more than my Korean model.

That is an awesome guitar and I’m very glad the thieves left it for you.

guitars4you

Evo said:

Very helpful guys, thank you!

I almost feel guilty for having it, I'm not a huge Lennon fan and the fact that I could probably sell it and buy a seriously nice used 339 or similar and possible pocket 2-3k in change is almost as barmy as the bloke asking 13k on reverb. 

Fact is, it's a nice casino...and despite my usual chopping/changing tendencies...I've grown quite attached to having it around. 

I imagine (no pun intended) that if a nice Gibson semi caught my eye then a re-evaluation might occur. But for now, it's nice just to get an idea of where they're at. 

Imagine if he actually got 13K

Evo

As crazy as that price is, I guess the guitar ticks quite a few of the boxes to one day hit silly money. 

One of the biggest names in guitar (well, biggest names in music really), an iconic instrument, USA made, limited edition…it’s got a lot going for it. 

It’s nowhere near there now, but if the gibson/epiphone custom shop ever reissue this model at their current pricing approach then I’ll be keeping a very close eye on the sold prices of these! Look at what happened to the silverburst LPs. 

stickyfiddle

Reverb sold prices seem to range from $3 to $9k, so I'd guess somewhere in the $5-6 range is a sensible assumption.

You could easily sell for 4-ish and buy a modern USA-built Casino if you wanted, though personally I'd keep it if you don't need to release cash. 

Either way it's a lovely guitar  

lustycourtier

Cranky said:

I paid $1k for a Korean “inspired by” just pre-quarantine (US-made Gibson p90s in it).  I would think that those are up a bit nowadays, and I would think that a bona fide MIA reissue would be worth at least a couple grand more than my Korean model.

That is an awesome guitar and I’m very glad the thieves left it for you.

The IBJL wasnt korean, they were chinese built. I paid £500 for one used when they first came out but it was a terrible guitar. felt unfinished. Bet they are mega money now too

Hattigol

I posed a thread about mine a while back. It's one of the low number ones that were held back and released later with limited edition lithographs. Bought it new 13 years ago - link to previous thread here:

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/208258/valuation-advice-please-epiphone-lennon-casino?new=1

I've still not listed it as I don't really have any idea on value. Mark at @guitars4you has suggested Gardiner Houlgate and I may go down that road. 

abw1989

guitars4you said:

Evo said:

Very helpful guys, thank you!

I almost feel guilty for having it, I'm not a huge Lennon fan and the fact that I could probably sell it and buy a seriously nice used 339 or similar and possible pocket 2-3k in change is almost as barmy as the bloke asking 13k on reverb. 

Fact is, it's a nice casino...and despite my usual chopping/changing tendencies...I've grown quite attached to having it around. 

I imagine (no pun intended) that if a nice Gibson semi caught my eye then a re-evaluation might occur. But for now, it's nice just to get an idea of where they're at. 

Imagine if he actually got 13K

It's easy if you try 

guitars4you

Hattigol said:

I posed a thread about mine a while back. It's one of the low number ones that were held back and released later with limited edition lithographs. Bought it new 13 years ago - link to previous thread here:

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/208258/valuation-advice-please-epiphone-lennon-casino?new=1

I've still not listed it as I don't really have any idea on value. Mark at @guitars4you has suggested Gardiner Houlgate and I may go down that road. 

I was thinking about you and your JL when this thread opened up - Looking at the price of a Custom Shop Noel G and indeed other 'signature' special models then 3-4K for an above example (as per this thread) is probably under priced - Yours is a different beast all together and even more so if you friend sold his at the same time as a pair - As I said before, I didn't even know yours existed with the painting - I sold some of these original models brand new back in the day, both sunburst and stripped natural 

ElectricXII

I remember looking these when they first came out. The "Assembled in the USA" kind of put me off buying (ditto the highish price), as to me it suggested that the guitar is assembled in the US from parts sourced elsewhere. Otherwise why not have Made in USA on the headstock? 

Evo

Well, Grover tuners are made in Taiwan for a start...

"parts sourced elsewhere" isn't always a bad thing, especially when it comes to accuracy on a guitar which was heavily modified by the original artist.