Expert: Kenton Scott - 3/16/2006

Question
My deceased Uncle played the saxaphone in High School. It is a CG Conn Ltd.  It has the following below the thumb rest.

December 8, 1914
1119954
C
103486
L

It is silver in color with pearl keys.  The inside of bowl looks to be gold in color.  There is no dents and looks to be in good shape.  There is a straight mouthpiece and in a hard black case with green interior.  Could you tell me what I have and its worth?  Would it be better to have it cleaned?  

Answer
I sounds to me like this an instrument made in the 1920's (1923).  And, I believe the "L" stand for low pitch, which is a good thing as it would play in tune with modern bands.

Value would depend on several things, the size of the horn (alto, tenor, C melody, baritone, etc.) condition. etc.  You may want to watch what similar Conn Sax's go for on eBay to get a sense of what it's market value is.

Cleaning it is probably not a big deal.  

kms