What is a celebrity piano?
A piano that has an authenticated relationship with a famous person, historical event, iconic place or was integral to a famous story or scandal. Sometimes the piano itself has become famous in its own right, because of extensive media coverage.
Are all celebrity pianos the same?
No. There are five tiers of celebrity pianos with the top tier being the most valuable in the marketplace. A piano is graded as being the highest tier it is proven to be part of. A piano might be of a higher tier than has been proven, or change in tiers as its provenance is authenticated or history is added to it. Read more about Piano Finders’ Five Tier Hierarchy for Celebrity Piano Value.
Do celebrity pianos appreciate in value?
Yes. Usually celebrity pianos will appreciate in value because of the value of the money decreasing since the time it was last sold (inflation, cost of living increases), the supply being limited but demand increasing, the probability of news coverage resulting from the sale of the piano (value of the media coverage), an event that guarantees no more pianos will be added to a limited edition series, or the death of the celebrity associated with the piano, the closing of an iconic place that the piano was located in, etc. The interaction of factors that contribute to a piano’s worth can be complicated. Piano Finders is an expert in authenticating and appraising celebrity pianos. Ultimately what a piano will sell for is based upon what the seller is willing to accept and the buyer is willing to pay. But, a celebrity appraiser can inform a seller and/or buyer of the probability of what a piano is worth at a given time.
Can a piano appraiser ethically also be a broker for a celebrity piano at the same time they are appraising it?
Yes as long as they reveal their potential conflict of interest. But an appraiser would not be an independent third party appraiser if they are involved in the sale of the piano at the same time as they are appraising it or if they are being paid based on a percentage of the value of the piano’s sale. Because there are so few appraisers with expertise in authenticating a piano’s condition, quality and origin and simultaneously appraising a piano’s celebrity value, Piano Finders has been hired as both appraiser and as broker at different times. Their experience is enhanced by having market experience, especially since they have handled multiple private sales and have private documentation that is evidence of what comparable pianos have sold for.
But, there are ethics to appraising. And an appraiser and provenance authenticator who is expected to be an independent third party should be paid by the hour for their work and receive no compensation other than for their time, when engaging in the process. Otherwise the piano appraisal is not an independent third party appraisal.
If, the appraiser was paid for their time and the appraisal is concluded, they can at a future time be engaged to broker a piano sale if ownership of the piano has changed, or a period of time has elapsed. But, at the moment an appraiser takes on any role in the sale of a piano, they should disclose this to any potential buyers, if a past appraisal of theirs is being used by a buyer to evaluate the worth of a piano.
How can authentication reports be verified by other experts?
Piano Finders, when authenticating provenance and condition of pianos, reveals enough information in their documentation that can be independently verified, the documentation can be used by independent third parties to verify objective facts. For example, the piano’s condition report includes measurements of pin torque (tightness of tuning pins) that could be verified by any piano technician who has the tools and skill, and public records quoted or documents in rare manuscript libraries available to other researchers, can be examined and verified by another provenance researcher by physical inspection.
Most estate piano appraisers have no knowledge of piano celebrity values or provenance research techniques and authentication. And most appraisers belonging to appraisal societies who evaluate art or famous people’s objects for value, have no knowledge of how to authenticate a piano’s origin and condition and the various factors that influence the value of the piano as an instrument. Piano Finders has all of this expertise and writes up reports that have enough information that other experts with a specific specialty, can be consulted by a buyer or seller and come to a consensus of individual objectively observable facts even though all the experts available, may not have expertise to evaluate every aspect that is being taken into consideration by Piano Finders.