I'm with Charles and Jay here-
Italian or early Carlsbad examples are it...Period. Even Eisentrout and Lippy built Masi's are well into the twilight of the Carlsbad days..... Once you get to the San Marcos GC's you have, as Maxwell Smart would say, "missed by that much!"
Huzzah for the buyer and his $4100 statement...for me I spent the same or less $$$ for a mint original 1971 Italian (Milano) GC, a mint original 1974 Carlsbad GC and a 1957 Masi Special Frameset...and I'd still have a few Franklins left to bet on "Close but no cigar" at the 4th race at Santa Anita ;^) If I had $4100 today I'd take the Caminargent in half a heartbeat and bank the rest.... I already have 7 Masi's.
BTW I have a SMC Masi just like the one sold maybe a year or two newer. It came with C-Record and was Minty fresh as well...from a local collector who doesn't let ANYTHING go cheap....that was $900. My prediction is that Early C-Record will pass the 50th group in value.
Matty de Shore Long Beach, CA
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Raymond Dobbins Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 10:43 AM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Re: $4000 Masi
hello to all, here goes my 2 cents on the value of the masi gc with 50th anniversary gruppo.
i am surprised at how high the selling price was, but i am also surprised at how low charles andrews appraises it at. masi is a known commodity in the vintage bike community, sought after and generally difficult to find. this example was a no-stories genuine california masi in an attractive color, a popular size, and in mint condition. i wouldn't be surprised to see that frameset alone sell for $1,000 (btw, how much did it retail for in its day?). as far as the gruppo, although many members put it down as gaudy, i think many more people, like me, find it to be fancy yet elegant, and very desirable. either way, i think it is without dispute also an established commodity amongst vintage aficionados. a mounted but not used gruppo, in mint condition, i think would generally trade in the $1,000 plus range. together with the other bits that make up this complete bike, i think it would easily have sold in the $2,000 to $2,500 range.
ultimately the beauty/value of the object is in the eye of the beholder/bidder, but personally this beholder/non-bidder, believes that $1500 to $1600 is below the fair market value of this particular masi. i will be glad to receive off-list opinions on this, tabulate the results and post them, so feel free to flame me or attaboy me, offlist.
ray dobbins, miami, florida
snip:
> Bob wrote:
>
> "Now for something closer to on-topic... does anyone
> have any comments about the $4,000+ price paid
> for a San Marcos Masi GC this weekend? "
>
> *******
>
> That sale makes no sense to me at all. That bike, even with
> a 50th group, is worth 1500 or 1600 bucks, tops. Just my
> opinion, sure, but I am quite certain the current owner--if
> he paid the full price listed in the concluded auction--is
> in for a big surprise if he ever tries to resell it for what
> he has in it.
>
> I mean, c'mon!! Is it worth more than the Caminargent sold
> recently on ebay? Is it worth more than a clean Masi
> Special with all the original early 60s parts? Is it worth
> more than a 1930s Gloria in clean, original condition? I
> don't think so.
>
> I wonder if there's more to that auction than meets the
> eye...but maybe not. As ebay continues to grow, we'll
> probably continue seeing weird stuff like this.
>
> Charles Andrews
> SoCal