Shires at a pawn shop

[Jimbbob]

I'm not a Shires guy so I have no clue. I know condition trumps all, but anyone want to take a guess as to the model here? Value?

[Elow]

Worth 4x that. Colin willams model
Probably stolen, most definitely stolen

[Burgerbob]

Definitely worth more than 600 bucks. Any part of it (minus the tuning slide) is more than worth $600 on its own.

[TomRiker]

Looks like it could be a custom. If it's playable that is a steal of a price. I don't suppose it's in Florida?

[Elow]

If you don’t take it, and it’s within 6 hours of florida, i’ll take it

[tombone21]

I would only buy this horn if you have zero intention of ever selling it again. If you're trying to make a quick buck, I'd buy a pair of Jordan's instead. Safer investment than anything on the stock market!

[sacfxdx]

If it really is stolen then you may lose it. I would get the serial number and check with the manufacturer to see what it's history is before I paid anything for a potentially HOT horn.

Just my opinion. And then there's the guy/store who it was stolen from.

[TromboneConcerto]

Pick it up and contact shires with the serial number. They might be able to trace down the original owner

[Jimbbob]

Lots of interesting replies, thank you for the input. Yes this is in Texas. I checked in with a close friend (ex police in this jurisdiction for a long time). He eased my concern a bit about buying a potentially "hot" horn. There appear to be some fail-safes in place, and pawn shops in particular are under a lot of scrutiny/oversight for this very issue. Something about them having to hold an item like this for 60 days before selling so that verifications can be checked. However, I'm not naive and realize this is not a foolproof system, (although is buying off Craigslist from some "guy" much different? I'd say "yes", but that's up for debate). And while the "worst case" for someone unknowingly buying a stolen horn is that the horn can be confiscated from you (the buyer) without recompense, that's not really a path I want to start down.

Having a hard time imagining the scenario where the owner of a horn like this had to pawn it off for significantly less than the $600 asking price. Either a very very sad scenario, or something amiss.

Thanks again for the input!
Jim

[harrisonreed]

The way they got that thing hung on the wall...

[bbocaner]

There appear to be some fail-safes in place, and pawn shops in particular are under a lot of scrutiny/oversight for this very issue. Something about them having to hold an item like this for 60 days before selling so that verifications can be checked. However, I'm not naive and realize this is not a foolproof system

There are supposed to be, but you see all the time where less reputable shops aren't compliant and are hoping to flip things under the radar quickly.

[Dennis]

However, I'm not naive and realize this is not a foolproof system, (although is buying off Craigslist from some "guy" much different? I'd say "yes", but that's up for debate). And while the "worst case" for someone unknowingly buying a stolen horn is that the horn can be confiscated from you (the buyer) without recompense, that's not really a path I want to start down.

If the horn were confiscated as stolen, you would have a cause-of-action against the pawn broker. At $600, it could be handled in small-claims court. Proving that the horn is stolen might be difficult, though.

Shires horns are not necessarily serial numbered. The only part on mine that has a serial number is the gooseneck (and that is recently acquired). None of the bell, tuning slide, F-attachment, and handslide have any marks other than the engraving and part stamps.My F-attachment has no marks of any kind, but it's a mounted prototype so I'm not too surprised about that. I was surprised that the slide has nothing on it but "TW47G".

Discovering this has me wondering what I should do to get identifying marks on mine.

As far as buying from Craig's list from "some guy" goes, I also see it as different. I can tell in pretty short order if I'm talking to a player or not. Buying from a player is very different from buying from a pawn shop.

If the horn isn't hot, it's a hell of a deal.

[harrisonreed]

The rotors usually have the serial number, I thought.

[Dennis]

That probably is the case for production valves, but I've got Steve Shires' prototype rotary valve. It's not marked in any way.

Given the modular nature of the instruments, it seems to me that all the parts should be serialized. If not that, then the expensive bits: the bell, valve, and slide.

[Hobart]

Make sure it wasn't stolen. I heard a quite long story about a $50 TR-180 being stolen and pawned.

[harrisonreed]

Oh man... I remember that one

[etbone]

I'm not a Shires guy so I have no clue. I know condition trumps all, but anyone want to take a guess as to the model here? Value?

Looks to be a “shires select” only made a short time.

[mrdeacon]

Oh man... I remember that one

Woof. That was a thread for the ages.