We are about to sell a #8 for about $500. It all depends condition.,Barry says between $500-1000. Do you know what year? This is quite crucial to value. Colour scheme is not so relevant.
We are about to sell a #8 for about $500. It all depends condition.,Barry says between $500-1000. Do you know what year? This is quite crucial to value. Colour scheme is not so relevant.
To be honest I found it when I was renovating my home. I tried to find out whether it is in 1948 or up to 1970... Do you have any info I can try to find out ? I did google but not much information to tell the age.
To be honest I found it when I was renovating my home. I tried to find out whether it is in 1948 or up to 1970... Do you have any info I can try to find out ? I did google but not much information to tell the age.
If you can post pictures of the item (inside and out) including any manuals, then Barry (Gerdes) may be able to give some info.
If you plan to sell on eBay (which is possibly the best way), be prepared to give it time as well. There are plenty of collectors who watch the ebay sales.
Barry's advice is first, go to the New Zealand Meccano site http://www.nzmeccano.com (yes, very original). Introduce yourself through their forum, ask for what it's worth. In all likelyhood you may find a buyer there (they service ANZ)
Barry says it is a late 70s vintage, and they can go from $600-900 by the cursory look of your pictures.
As you have intimated, Gary, there can be many factors influencing the Set 9's value:
a) Are all the parts indeed Meccano parts? There have been many imitators of Meccano, and those foreign parts do find their way into what is at first glance a fully Meccano outfit. The value is enhanced if everything is indeed Meccano (bearing the Meccano stamp).
b) Is the Set complete? Nuts, bolts, washers and many small 'fiddly' parts can often go missing over the years. Again, value is greatly enhanced if it is truly complete as per the parts list in the manual.
c) On that point, a Set 9 came with a manual and model leaflets when new. Ideally they should be still attached now.
d) Are all the parts from the same original set and therefore in the same colour and tone? The worst aspect of Meccano is that they changed colours a lot. There are at least three different shades of green and at least three different shades of red, plus many other colours, all used in various combinations with each other over the years. You don't want a set with say the green parts in two different shades. That detracts from the value.
e) Are some or many parts bent and distorted, or is everything straight and true?
f) How much paint has been worn away? Is there is any rust, even minor surface rust?
g) The most valuable Set 9 would be with plates in blue with gold cross-hatching and structural parts in plain gold paint. The next most valuable would be in so-called medium red and green (years 1945 to 1957 inclusive). Next most valuable would be so-called light red and green (years 1958 to 1964). Lowest value would be zinc (silver), blue and yellow (year 1970 onwards). The zinc tends to oxidize, reducing the desirability of these sets.
h) Is the oak chest an original Meccano cabinet, and what is its condition?
Last month I bought a Set 9 in medium red and green (valuable colours) from a suburb in Sydney. It was very near complete (I could easily make up the few small missing parts from my general collection), well used but with minimal bending (which I could soon straighten). I paid $100 for it, and yes, it was a bargain. A complete Set 9 in all original parts, in desirable colours and in mint condition might bring $1500 or even $1800. Prices for Meccano are not quite as high as they were say 5 or 10 years ago. Demand has dropped off a little. So the price your contact might get can sit anywhere within a wide range.
Lastly, if your astronomer colleague is looking to sell his Set 9, I am a potential purchaser and would be most interested to find out more about it. Where is it located? Even if far afield, if the set is a good one it might still warrant my paying for freight.
I hope the above information helps.
If you have a set you are interested in selling and would like to contact Murray, drop me an email and I will put you in touch.
As a further piece of empirical evidence that it is a small world, turns out
that my neighbour, Murray T., knows both Barry & Trevor, since Barry is
a member of the same Meccano club.
Murray recently bought a Set 7 from Barry and is about to buy a Set 8.
And of course we know Barry & Trevor too.
Murray writes :-
Quote:
Originally Posted by Murray
Sorry to go on about this, but there is a further complication. In the 1970s, Meccano pulled a low trick and re-numbered all their sets (except for Set 10) by eliminating the old Set 9 and moving the numbering of all the others up by one. So, the "Set 9" we see in the site below is actually a Set 8 in the old parlance. I can tell because I am familiar with the parts that are in each set. This means that the set is not so valuable. Also, I can see that some of the zinc has oxidised - tut tut. My guess at the set's value is around $400. The discoloured/corroded zinc is a big turn-off. There is a way to prevent oxidising of the zinc - you have to smear all the zinc parts with oil and keep them in sealed plastic bags - but this is only effective if you do it when new. It's no good just leaving zinc parts the way they come when originally purchased - they'll slowly but surely corrode.
I am still interested in this set, but I would have to assess the extent of zinc corrosion further.
I will ask.
