Posted by Lee Stofer on July 18, 2002 at 08:38:58:
In Reply to: Are Yorks a good investment? posted by Rick Denney on July 15, 2002 at 13:05:18:
Rick,
Congratulations on provoking a good thread. I think the Consumer Price Index did not do the comparison justice. Let's say, compare the prices this way; The York 716 tuba cost right at $200 in 1923, and a basic Ford Model T was $250, so the price of a very good tuba was 4/5 of the price of a very popular auto. Now, let's say you can buy a new Ford Taurus for $20,000. Then, the new price of a comparable tuba would be in the $15,000 range. Both cars were built on an assembly line, and both tubas were very carefully hand-made. I think this scenario would be more accurate. You could get less expensive imported tubas in those days, but a real quality instrument cost a lot of money then, and still does. By the way, I was told that a 4/4 York CC copy was made in 1990 by a European firm that charged $20,000, and the result was less-than-spectacular.
Lee Stofer