I think the subject of declining prices is one that will be debated for
years.  I have pointed out that it depends on where you are located and
where the instrument is located that makes an impact on the price.  Then
you also have to consider what the instrument is, coin piano,
reproducing piano, or player piano?   Some auctions have recently set
some pretty high prices.

There are some people who view prices as declining, and then there are
those who think they are too high.  In the 1970's, when I was making
$1.15 an hour, a Seeburg L Cabinet model was selling for around $1,000
unrestored, as were Wurlitzer Pianinos with bay front, according to old
catalogs from Hathaway & Bowers.  Now the minimum wage has increased
almost six times what it was in 1970.  Using this ratio would make an
unrestored Seeburg L or Pianino worth $6,000 unrestored.

The Seeburg G in 1970 was selling for $2495.00 in some catalogs.  There
were three Seeburg H models for sale in the Antique Trader at that time
for $10,000.  Today a Seeburg G or H cannot be bought for six times the
1970 value.  If you have one for sale at that price, contact me first!

A plain A-roll piano such as the one recently on eBay at $14,999 or
whatever got no bids.  I think the price was way out of line for a
keyboard A-roll piano.  Websites such as eBay have exposed the public to
more of those pianos than may have been thought to exist.  It has
surprised me how many Regina 15 1/2 inch music boxes have come up for
sale on eBay.  There have typically been approximately four Seeburg K or
KT models per year on eBay.  I would suspect that there are over 200
still in existence.  The bottom line is that perhaps we paid too much
in the 1970's when we did not have the resources to find so many pianos.
And perhaps interest has declined in general.

Ampico models and other reproducing pianos are a whole different story.
Today is a good time to start collecting player pianos if you enjoy
them.  They seem to be bargain priced in many instances.  But a Mills
Violano is not such a bargain: they were only $1459.00 in the 1970's,
compared to today's prices of around $20,000 and up.

The bottom line is that prices are all over the spectrum, in the opinion
of this old collector.

Don Teach