It's no Stradivarius, but I still have a Pee-wee puppet

A few years ago Teresa showed me a violin that a friend gave her … it was from her friend's grandfather after they cleaned out some of his stuff after he passed away.

Teresa told me, "We think it is a Stradivarius. It might be worth something."

Okay, I thought, maybe it is. I knew that a Stradivarius was the best violin in the world, but I admit I knew little else.

"Someday, if we ever need money, maybe we can sell it," Teresa said.

Well, that day came in the last year or so when Teresa was battling her health and our medical bills were getting out of control.

So, I took it to a local pawn shop to see if they knew anything about it. They didn't, but said to contact somebody from the University of Wyoming music department and see what they say.

As it turned out, I never did, as Teresa's health continued to deteriorate and eventually she passed away.

Recently, with Teresa's mother, Pat, and Teresa's daughter, Cassie, we began to go through her stuff. We had piles for stuff to throw away, piles of stuff to keep and piles of stuff to use for a yard sale.
By the way, Teresa never threw anything away. We had a lot of piles of stuff and still do.

We came across the violin that has stayed inside an extremely old case. Just maybe it is worth something? The violin is is probably in average condition, without strings. Who knows? Cassie looked inside and she could read, “Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1721 Made in Czecho-Slovakia.”

Let's see, as uneducated music collectors, we perked up a little. After all, it says Stradivarius, its says 1721 and it says Czecho-Slovakia. Maybe we are sitting on a goldmine? And Teresa would be saying to us, if she could, “Get it checked out … now.”

So Sunday afternoon I decided to get online and see what I could come up with.

Damn Internet. I didn't win the lottery on Saturday and I won't be able to retire after selling this violin.

“Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1721 Made in Czecho-Slovakia” basically means it is a copy and it is not made by Antonio Stradivari. If fact, that phrase is the first clue because Stradivari didn't speak English and his originals were made in Italy.

It's not that this violin is not old, it could have been made in the 18th century, just not by Stradivari. Also, faciebat is a Latin word for copy. Evidently, the Cremonenis Faciebat Anno was often put in there somewhat as a joke.

Oh, by the way, an original Stradivarius still sells for anywhere from $1 million to $5 million, which is what I was daydreaming about before I looked it up.

So what is this copy that I have worth? From what I can tell from the Internet (if its on the Internet, it has to be true), it is worth anywhere from $10 to $1,000 if it was in perfect, playable condition. Mine is probably closer to $10 than $1,000.

I went on e-Bay and one was listed that looked identical to mine, including it's condition, for $199.99.

No bidders, of course.

We also came up some other items that Teresa had collected, such as some old marbles, prints of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and The Little Rascals, and a Pee-wee Herman 26-inch ventriloquist puppet, still in the box.

I'll probably sell the Pee-wee ventriloquist puppet before I sell the violin.

And yes, I checked on e-Bay. A Pee-wee puppet just like the one I have was listed at $92.

No bidders, of course.