Value of a 1950's Fender Stratocaster - Pre-CBS Guitars - Appraisal & Worth Information

1959 Fender Stratocaster - Price and Value

Garrett Park Guitars is a vintage guitar authority since 1991 and appraises instruments regularly for individuals as well as insurance companies.  To find the value of your vintage 1950's Fender Stratocaster, please use the information below or contact us to get a professional appraisal within 24 hours. 

You may also use the chat function on our website to talk live with a person in our store during regular business hours.

Emailinfo@gpguitars.com

Phone:  410-571-9660

We buy vintage instruments and pay top dollar.  We may even come to you and buy your instrument.  We regularly travel to Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the rest of the US and Canada.

Below are some general values of 1950's Fender Stratocasters.  These values are approximate and like the stock market, they fluctuate.  Some guitars will fetch more value or less value than what you see here.  The best option to know is to call us at 410-571-9660.

We have found that 1950's Fender Stratocasters can range in value from $6,500 to $150,000.  There are many factors that go into that valuation and we can assist in finding the actual value of your instrument.  Consider the following:

  • Pot Codes From A 1959 Fender StratocasterDoes your guitar have a serial number?
  • Have there been any modifications to your guitar?
  • What year was guitar made?  1954?, 1955?,1956?, 1957?, 1958?, 1959?
  • Does your fingerboard contain maple only or does it have rosewood?
  • Is the rosewood Brazilian or Indian rosewood?
  • Does the truss rod work and adjust the neck properly?
  • Do you have the original case?
  • Are the pickups original?
  • What condition is it in?
  • What color is your guitar?
  • What are the pot codes?
  • What does the neck stamp say?
  • Cavity of a 1959 Fender StratocasterIs it a rare color such as Dakota Red, Shell Pink, or Cimarron Red? 
  • Is the pickguard cracked?
  • Are there missing parts?
  • Do the tuners work properly?
  • How is the neck angle?
  • Has the nut been replaced?
  • Do you have the original receipt?
  • Has the pickup cavity been routed?
  • Do you have the original paperwork or accessories?
  • Has the guitar been refretted?

To find out these details, call us:  410-571-9660 or email us: info@gpguitars.com.

Is your guitar hardtail or does it have a tremolo?

Some hardtail Stratocasters can fetch more value than others.  If you are unsure of the type of Stratocaster you have, we can help you find out and also appraise it.  Email us:  info@gpguitars or call us 410-571-9660.

From Fender's website:  "...Freddy Tavares sketched out a new body shape that sleekly adapted Leo’s balanced two-horned shape for the Precision Bass. The new guitar thus combined features of Fender’s first two instruments of the 1950s, and in another important development in early 1953, Fender sales chief Don Randall came up with a name for it: the Stratocaster.

To compete with more high-end instruments from other manufacturers—particularly Gibson’s Les Paul, introduced in 1952 in response to what Randall once called the “plain Jane” Telecaster—the Stratocaster was a marked step up in design and innovation for Fender. It had not one or two but three pickups, with switching and controls that created great tonal versatility (although, curiously, the switching configuration allowed only three of several possible pickup combinations).

A triple-pickup configuration wasn’t the Stratocaster’s only first. The Telecaster sounded great but wasn’t especially comfortable to play because its squared-off body dug into the player’s body and picking-hand forearm. Guitarist Rex Gallion is often credited with suggesting that a solid-body guitar didn’t need squared-off edges since it didn’t have an internal sound chamber, and with asking Leo himself, “Why not get away from a body that is always digging into your ribs?” The Stratocaster was consequently given rounded edges and deep body and forearm contours that made it remarkably comfortable and added to its sleekness."

We buy vintage instruments and pay top dollar.  We may even come to you and buy your instrument.  We regularly travel to Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the rest of the US and Canada.

We'd be happy to answer any questions and help you determine the value of your instrument.  Contact us:

Emailinfo@gpguitars.com

Phone:  410-571-9660