Expert: Mike Pawul - 5/30/2009

Question
Hi

I used to play the trumpet when I was at school and have kept my trumpet for all these years, it must be at least 20 years old now, but it is wasting away unloved in my loft.

It is a B&M champion trumpet and it has a code 118643 Made in GDR. It is in it's original case with it's original silver mouthpiece which has B&S engraved on it. It has white mother of pearl inlays on the valves and they all still work.

It has a few tiny pen nib size dents in it and some minimal scratches which you can see when you are up close. But it looks really quite new still.

My questions are, 1. What is B&M and B&S as I can't seem to find anything about them or there history on the internet. 2. What is the value of this trumpet. 3. Where is the best place to sell it (I am in the UK) and 4. Am I right in thinking it is a Bb as the tube stretches round from end to end almost of the trumpet, it is long and slender.

Sorry I am not talking about it technically well. It's been a while!!

Thanks very much in advance.
John

Answer
John,  B&M is Bohm & Meinl and they were a maker of very fine brass from the 1930's to about 1980 in Germany. They were very well known for their tuba's. About 1983 they were taken over by Walter Nirschl who still makes brass today under his own name and the Meinl name. B&S is a part of J A Music in Germany and has been around for over 100 years. But the mouthpiece and horn were not from the same company when your horn was produced in the late 1950's. If the horn is about 19" long, without the mouthpiece, it is a trumpet. The value depends on the wear to the valves along with the wear to the body. It should be worth somewhere around 150 US dollars. Selling it would be best on a site like Ebay. That way you could have more exposure.