Insurance value for this Cue?

Raptor60

Registered
I was given this cue by a friend who purchased it in the 60s or 70s. I believe it is an Adam Corsair. Used for a few years and stored for 40 years or so. Original wrap, a few minor dings but truly remarkable condition. Any more information would be great. Not sure what it may be worth but I thought I should insure it if I plan to keep it, or sell it if the price is right.
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Buster8001

Did you say shrubberies?
Silver Member
The case is probably worth just as much as the cue.
Maybe $400 for the set, for insurance purposes.
 

cuesblues

cue accumulator
Silver Member
For insurance purposes you want it to be a little higher than what you can sell it for today on AZ Billiards.
I would put an insurance replacement value as high as $1000 for the package.
From a sales standpoint I would pay about $400 for the set.
 

Raptor60

Registered
Thank you, I would have thought a hand made cue from a hall of fame maker would be worth more. Glad I asked.
 

cuesblues

cue accumulator
Silver Member
Thank you, I would have thought a hand made cue from a hall of fame maker would be worth more. Glad I asked.

The cue was made in the Adam plant in Japan where hundreds of thousands of cues are made.
Ebay seems to be the place where these cues bring the most value, and there is a lot of interest in these cues.
The problem with actual value is this cue is at the high end of a low end Asian import cue market.
 

Raptor60

Registered
Thank you, I have studied under a few masters in my life. A potter, a wood worker and a few martial artists. None of them started a shop or studio without being directly involved for at least a decade or more. The cue I have had to have been made in the first five years of the Japan start up thus I would have thought the master would have been hands on at that time. Guess the cue making craft is very different from the ones I am familiar with. Never heard of a worth while master who would start a company and bail out in the first couple years and let the journeyman make everything. Sad really. I like the cue, guess I'll play with it and leave it to someone who cares.
 
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cuesblues

cue accumulator
Silver Member
Thank you, I have studied under a few masters in my life. A potter, a wood worker and a few martial artists. None of them started a shop or studio without being directly involved for at least a decade or more. The cue I have had to have been made in the first five years of the Japan start up thus I would have thought the master would have been hands on at that time. Guess the cue making craft is very different from the ones I am familiar with. Never heard of a worth while master who would start a company and bail out in the first couple years and let the journeyman make everything. Sad really. I like the cue, guess I'll play with it and leave it to someone who cares.


I think you are confusing a cue made by a factory with a good custom cue.
The cuemaking craft is no different than any other functional art.
Don't discredit the art of cuemaking because you have an import that isn't worth as much as you think it should be worth.
I recently sold a plain jane Kersenbrock made in the same era for 5K, and the cue has no inlays, no rings, no exotic woods.
There are true masters out there building cues, some worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
 

Raptor60

Registered
I think you are confusing a cue made by a factory with a good custom cue.
The cuemaking craft is no different than any other functional art.
Don't discredit the art of cuemaking because you have an import that isn't worth as much as you think it should be worth.
I recently sold a plain jane Kersenbrock made in the same era for 5K, and the cue has no inlays, no rings, no exotic woods.
There are true masters out there building cues, some worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Yes I suppose I am a bit ignorant on this subject. Mass producing cues by hand on lathes without computers in the 70s doesn't seem a whole lot different from a custom cue maker doing the same thing. The only difference is that a custom maker may only create one of something instead of a thousand. I guess it comes down to the choice of quality materials and the quality of work. True craftsmanship seems to be a dying art in all feilds. It seems that it wont be long before people wont be able to make anything without a computer to do all the work. I think people under estimate the value of hand made artistry. Some day "made by hand" will be a much greater distinction than it is today. It saddens me to see true crafting artistry disappearing.
 

cuesblues

cue accumulator
Silver Member
Yes I suppose I am a bit ignorant on this subject. Mass producing cues by hand on lathes without computers in the 70s doesn't seem a whole lot different from a custom cue maker doing the same thing. The only difference is that a custom maker may only create one of something instead of a thousand. I guess it comes down to the choice of quality materials and the quality of work. True craftsmanship seems to be a dying art in all feilds. It seems that it wont be long before people wont be able to make anything without a computer to do all the work. I think people under estimate the value of hand made artistry. Some day "made by hand" will be a much greater distinction than it is today. It saddens me to see true crafting artistry disappearing.


I've had a few Adam cues from the same era, and we couldn't seem to get them to play right.
We even tried changing out the metal screw tenon they used for the ferrule, and it didn't help.
Maybe we are spoiled from playing with custom cues but the Adam cues didn't have the feel I like.
The Adam blanks and their shaftwood back then was some of the best, but the cues played like production imports.
 

measureman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think you are confusing a cue made by a factory with a good custom cue.
The cuemaking craft is no different than any other functional art.
Don't discredit the art of cuemaking because you have an import that isn't worth as much as you think it should be worth.
I recently sold a plain jane Kersenbrock made in the same era for 5K, and the cue has no inlays, no rings, no exotic woods.
There are true masters out there building cues, some worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The great Chinese/Italian cue maker Ling Chou Lucasi comes to mind.
 
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