I've owned a Balabuska... sold it though

[Bobkitty]

I've owned a lot of stuff that I wish I still had. Bought a Balabuska from a lady in Las Vegas but sold it to a dealer in Chicago in the middle 1980's. Bought it for a $1,000 and sold it for $2500. He kept it for a month or so to get it all checked out but he did send the money. Wonder how much today? Have any of you guys owned one? I also bought and sold many guitars. I owned a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe from 1958 with the Finder tweed amplifier. Bought it for $1200 and the guitar sold for $6500 in the 1980's. Worth hundreds of thousands today. Big money at the time but how about it's worth today? Chet bought the amplifier and a rock band bought the guitar. Sold all of that stuff to Gruhn's in Nashville. Wish I had the 1954 Martin D-28 that George Gruhn called me about. He said it "rang like a bell and was I sure I wanted to sell it". I said sure, I can't play it. Anyway, he got $3500 for it then and set the record and I paid $1,000. At the time, I thought I was making big money. BUT I suppose my ex-wife would have taken it all had I kept it. Bought a 1955 Chevy two door hardtop for $250 and left it abandoned in San Francisco when I broke the front axle rod in 1968 or so. Am I the only stupid one?

 

[skip100]

The guys who sold Ferrari road/race cars for 10k, now worth millions, would sympathize...

Of course, maintaining a 1962 Ferrari for 40 years is not a costless enterprise.

 

[jazznpool]

Gus Szamboti made me a cocobolo on cocobolo 4 point cue with all the rings, flat face ivory joint and slender butt. Diamond inlays in points and diamonds and dots in back. Very rare for Gus to make cocobolo cue, flat-face ivory and slender butt. Paid 635.00 in 1983. Sold for 1k in 1985. Worth at least 30k today if in excellent shape.
Sold 1966 Sunburst Gibson L5 and Polytone 102 amp for 875.00 to my cousin in late 1981 to have money to move to California. Guitar is in same shape as I sold it to him as he's probably only played it a dozen times. I've made offers over the years. Worth an easy 8k today without the amp.
Those are just 2 of the things I wish I hadn't parted with. Lol. I really don't need either item back as I have great pool and guitar gear. I would love to see the cue though. I assume it's in Japan.

 

[Chopdoc]

I've owned a lot of stuff that I wish I still had. Bought a Balabuska from a lady in Las Vegas but sold it to a dealer in Chicago in the middle 1980's. Bought it for a $1,000 and sold it for $2500. He kept it for a month or so to get it all checked out but he did send the money. Wonder how much today? Have any of you guys owned one? I also bought and sold many guitars. I owned a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe from 1958 with the Finder tweed amplifier. Bought it for $1200 and the guitar sold for $6500 in the 1980's. Worth hundreds of thousands today. Big money at the time but how about it's worth today? Chet bought the amplifier and a rock band bought the guitar. Sold all of that stuff to Gruhn's in Nashville. Wish I had the 1954 Martin D-28 that George Gruhn called me about. He said it "rang like a bell and was I sure I wanted to sell it". I said sure, I can't play it. Anyway, he got $3500 for it then and set the record and I paid $1,000. At the time, I thought I was making big money. BUT I suppose my ex-wife would have taken it all had I kept it. Bought a 1955 Chevy two door hardtop for $250 and left it abandoned in San Francisco when I broke the front axle rod in 1968 or so. Am I the only stupid one?

$2500 in 1985 is $5,972.46 today. So the difference may not be as much as you think.

What kind of Bushka was it?

Anyway, I let go of a Shelby back about 1985. Yeah. Dumb.

My mother had a Stradivarius violin when she was a teen. My uncle ended up with it. There was a big dispute in the family over it but it never went to court and my mother dropped it, walked away from the issue. How much is it worth? I dunno, a million?

When my father died he left property with mineral rights. That property sits on a coal vein. He was offered $20 million to strip mine it. Something like $2 million a year over ten years guaranteed. He refused. He did not want the land touched, the forest cut down. He refused to have it logged as well. The family was fighting over it even before he died. I walked away from it. Never fought over any of it.

I regret selling the Shelby. I do not regret walking away from my father's land. I won't fight with my family.

.

 

[jackpot]

I've always been shrewd

I was the original owner of the last Balabushka that he shipped,
right before he died. Got $600 for it. Probably worth twice that now.
It's in the Glen collection.
jack

 

[Chip Roberson]

Had a 1966, R Code Ford Galaxie,,sold it back in 2001 , when my son got his drivers permit. 17,000 and like new,,Wow for what they are bringing now. The first post on the 58 Les Paul,,if it was a sun burst finish, could be close to a Million bucks now they are considered the Holy Grail of Guitars today..Still have the Szamboti that Gus built for me back in 78 and it's my daily player on the Centennial in the basement of my house,,I don't take the cue out to play with , just use it around the house. Probably need to make a move , no one else in the family will want it. I steered my Son into blues and Jazz instead of pool , so we have nice guitars and such, but with a local room to play being over an hour in any direction, hard to muster the interest as I approach my late 60'S:thumbup:

 

[Bobkitty]

Had a 1966, R Code Ford Galaxie,,sold it back in 2001 , when my son got his drivers permit. 17,000 and like new,,Wow for what they are bringing now. The first post on the 58 Les Paul,,if it was a sun burst finish, could be close to a Million bucks now they are considered the Holy Grail of Guitars today..Still have the Szamboti that Gus built for me back in 78 and it's my daily player on the Centennial in the basement of my house,,I don't take the cue out to play with , just use it around the house. Probably need to make a move , no one else in the family will want it. I steered my Son into blues and Jazz instead of pool , so we have nice guitars and such, but with a local room to play being over an hour in any direction, hard to muster the interest as I approach my late 60'S:thumbup:

No, the Gibson Les Paul was black but in absolutely perfect condition. They would not tell me who bought it but that it went to a rock band. Chet Atkins did buy the Fender tweed amplifier. My guitar at the time was a Gibson 355. Loved the Mickey Mouse ears. Sold it also. I've owned over a 100 guitars but sold them all for profit in the 1980's. Brings tears to my eyes. ha

 

[9BallKY]

I bought a Richard Harris for $150 back in the early 90s, about a month later someone offered me my money back for it and I let it go. I probably had 7 or 8 cues at the time. I think it might be worth a little more now. Might not be to the extreme you guys mentioned but if only we had known.

 

[alstl]

I've owned a lot of stuff that I wish I still had. Bought a Balabuska from a lady in Las Vegas but sold it to a dealer in Chicago in the middle 1980's. Bought it for a $1,000 and sold it for $2500. He kept it for a month or so to get it all checked out but he did send the money. Wonder how much today? Have any of you guys owned one? I also bought and sold many guitars. I owned a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe from 1958 with the Finder tweed amplifier. Bought it for $1200 and the guitar sold for $6500 in the 1980's. Worth hundreds of thousands today. Big money at the time but how about it's worth today? Chet bought the amplifier and a rock band bought the guitar. Sold all of that stuff to Gruhn's in Nashville. Wish I had the 1954 Martin D-28 that George Gruhn called me about. He said it "rang like a bell and was I sure I wanted to sell it". I said sure, I can't play it. Anyway, he got $3500 for it then and set the record and I paid $1,000. At the time, I thought I was making big money. BUT I suppose my ex-wife would have taken it all had I kept it. Bought a 1955 Chevy two door hardtop for $250 and left it abandoned in San Francisco when I broke the front axle rod in 1968 or so. Am I the only stupid one?

The 1955 Chevy Bel Air was a dad ass looking car. I could have had my Grandpa's 1955 Chrysler 300 - Grandpa was original owner - for $1,000 dollars but didn't do it. I had just gotten rid of a 1965 Ford Falcon street rod and didn't want to listen to my wife gripe about buying the 300. Engine complete and original, body straight. The 1955 Chrysler 300 won a lot of NASCAR races. Oh well.

 

[Bob Jewett]

... Am I the only stupid one?

I guess I was stupid but in the other direction. I collected stamps into high school. I was careful to get every new US issue as mint stamps. I kept them in a big box that I hauled around for about 10 moves. I looked to see how much they were worth a couple of years ago and it turns out that US mint stamps are now worth less than face value. You can get $100 in stamps for about $70 in cash. Of course you will also need 10 stamps to mail a letter. I'm slowly working my way through them using large envelopes.:smile:

On the other hand, I still have my second Balabushka. I sold the first one as soon as I got it because it felt too light and I asked George for another one and please make it a little fancier and 20 ounces. Two shafts, pearl inlays front and back, leather wrap, ivory ferrules of course, $175. I do wish I had kept the first one and the box and the paperwork.

 

[KCRack'em]

How about 10k invested in Microsoft and sold for 60k? That's what a friend did a "few" years ago. He said at the peak, his stock would have been worth more than 6 million bucks.

 

[tucson9ball]

I guess I was stupid but in the other direction. I collected stamps into high school. I was careful to get every new US issue as mint stamps. I kept them in a big box that I hauled around for about 10 moves. I looked to see how much they were worth a couple of years ago and it turns out that US mint stamps are now worth less than face value. You can get $100 in stamps for about $70 in cash. Of course you will also need 10 stamps to mail a letter. I'm slowly working my way through them using large envelopes.:smile:

On the other hand, I still have my second Balabushka. I sold the first one as soon as I got it because it felt too light and I asked George for another one and please make it a little fancier and 20 ounces. Two shafts, pearl inlays front and back, leather wrap, ivory ferrules of course, $175. I do wish I had kept the first one and the box and the paperwork.

Hey Bob,

I've worked in the USPS for almost 34 years now. Over 20 of those years I worked the front counter, helping customers and selling stamps. There are thousands of people buying stamps and collecting just in our city alone. They buy up every first day cover and every other stamp they can get their hands on. It's a great hobby if you have interest but don't do it for the money.
I can't remember how many times somebody's Grandfather would pass away and one of the family would come in to try and sell the collection. Of course the USPS does not buy stamps back so we direct them to the closest stamp/coin shop. A typical collection will sell for between 60% to 75% face value. Translate Grandpa's $20,000 collection and you can get $12,000 to $15,000.
Unless you have the upside down airplane(original), most collections are just regular stuff.

 

[DynoDan]

No, the Gibson Les Paul was black but in absolutely perfect condition. They would not tell me who bought it but that it went to a rock band. /QUOTE]
They likely swapped out the pickups and then resold it. The 3PU ‘fretless wonder’ wasn’t a very popular guitar with rockers. Back in the 80s the 50s PAF pickups were in high demand to convert mid-50s goldtops into sunburst standards.

 

[DynoDan]

I could have had my Grandpa's 1955 Chrysler 300 - Grandpa was original owner - The 1955 Chrysler 300 won a lot of NASCAR races. Oh well.

Likely the only American car you could buy back then that could catch my ‘55 Thunderbird with overdrive!

 

[master_cueist]

Lots and lots of knockoff Strats out there though. I have 2 myself. Ironically, they can still be worth big money depending on when they were made, where they were made, and who made them because some were made so well that it's said they could have been one of the highest value companies even without riding on Strats name.

$2500 in 1985 is $5,972.46 today. So the difference may not be as much as you think.

What kind of Bushka was it?

Anyway, I let go of a Shelby back about 1985. Yeah. Dumb.

My mother had a Stradivarius violin when she was a teen. My uncle ended up with it. There was a big dispute in the family over it but it never went to court and my mother dropped it, walked away from the issue. How much is it worth? I dunno, a million?

When my father died he left property with mineral rights. That property sits on a coal vein. He was offered $20 million to strip mine it. Something like $2 million a year over ten years guaranteed. He refused. He did not want the land touched, the forest cut down. He refused to have it logged as well. The family was fighting over it even before he died. I walked away from it. Never fought over any of it.

I regret selling the Shelby. I do not regret walking away from my father's land. I won't fight with my family.

.

 

[Bob Jewett]

... It's a great hobby if you have interest but don't do it for the money. ... Unless you have the upside down airplane(original), most collections are just regular stuff.

I agree. I had a lot of fun working with them. I sort of lost interest when a lot of countries started printing stamps just to make money from collectors. I did get a set from Tonga that was round and triangular and various other shapes. As I recall it had gold foil too. The US started printing lots of issues about the time I stopped collecting.

Now I collect billiard books. I suppose they will be worthless when no one reads books any more.

In case anyone has a lot of money to invest, I have a set of the special "lizard skin" numbered editions of Eddie Robins' one pocket books available. There were only 32 sets.

 

[Bob Jewett]

Hey Bob,

I've worked in the USPS for almost 34 years now. Over 20 of those years I worked the front counter, helping customers and selling stamps. ...

Forgot to ask.... Do you see vintage stamps come through on current mail?

 

[skins]

No, the Gibson Les Paul was black but in absolutely perfect condition. They would not tell me who bought it but that it went to a rock band. /QUOTE]
They likely swapped out the pickups and then resold it. The 3PU ‘fretless wonder’ wasn’t a very popular guitar with rockers. Back in the 80s the 50s PAF pickups were in high demand to convert mid-50s goldtops into sunburst standards.

A client of mine bought out an instrument supply business back in the early 90's. He found boxes and boxes of original 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's parts for Gibsons and Fenders as well as others. All years of pickups, pots, knobs, jacks, switches, wire, resistors diodes etc.., tuners, strings, pick gaurds,..everthing you can imagine. All NOS. He said he wasnt sure the owner remembered he had all that stuff. There's parts that guitar restorers would kill for. He deals with big collectors and even Gibson and Fender from time to time.

As for owning a Bushka, yes still, as of this year.

 

[Pushout]

I guess I was stupid but in the other direction. I collected stamps into high school. I was careful to get every new US issue as mint stamps. I kept them in a big box that I hauled around for about 10 moves. I looked to see how much they were worth a couple of years ago and it turns out that US mint stamps are now worth less than face value. You can get $100 in stamps for about $70 in cash. Of course you will also need 10 stamps to mail a letter. I'm slowly working my way through them using large envelopes.:smile:

On the other hand, I still have my second Balabushka. I sold the first one as soon as I got it because it felt too light and I asked George for another one and please make it a little fancier and 20 ounces. Two shafts, pearl inlays front and back, leather wrap, ivory ferrules of course, $175. I do wish I had kept the first one and the box and the paperwork.

Just starting to get interested in stamp collecting again. I started in the late '80s but got side tracked and quit. It's mostly the older US stamps and then there a bunch of varieties, that are worth something. I'm going for World Christmas stamps and Christmas seals.

 

[alstl]

Likely the only American car you could buy back then that could catch my ‘55 Thunderbird with overdrive!

In the 1950’s, NASCAR rules mandated that cars run “strictly stock.” Chrysler introduced a new C-300 in 1955, a luxurious powerhouse with the 331 CI hemispherical head V8 engine (the “Hemi”) under the hood that could produce 300 horsepower. No American car had ever produced that much power.

The C-300 won an astounding 27 races in 1955, including 18 of the NASCAR races in which it entered. Lee Petty (Richard Petty’s father) and NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Tim Flock both drove a C-300 and battled for series supremacy throughout the season. Ultimately it was Flock who emerged victorious, both at the Daytona Beach race in the sand and as the eventual 1955 NASCAR Grand National champion.

You would have had a great view of the tail lights - at least for a while until the 300 got out of sight.

Funny thing is my Grandpa was a retired farmer who complained the car had too much power but I had an uncle who was a Chrysler/Plymouth dealer who sold Grandpa the car and I'm sure made a nice profit on the deal. Grandpa's standard attire was overalls. He had work overalls and dress overalls. You can imagine him driving around on rural Iowa gravel roads in what was literally a race car.