When Renee Latheur decided to take an old guitar into Lee鈥檚 Music in Kamloops, she didn鈥檛 expect the instrument that had sat in a closet for years to be worth thousands of dollars.
鈥淚t鈥檚 in a ratty old guitar case,鈥� Latheur said. 鈥淏ut I remember my aunt saying, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know what to do with this when I pass away.鈥欌��
Sherrie Favell died in March, leaving Latheur wondering about the instrument and its connection to the woman she loved as an aunt, even though they were not biologically related.
It wasn鈥檛 until Latheur recently walked into the music store and saw the owner Mike Miltimore鈥檚 eyes sparkle at the sight of the case that she began to learn more about the guitar and its value to Favell鈥檚 father, who bought it nearly 65 years ago.
Miltimore said the worn tweed and leather case was a telltale sign that it may contain a unique instrument.
When he opened the case, he saw a Gretsch from the 1950s, featuring a big brass buckle on the top and a leather studded belt around the outside.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a played instrument, you know. It鈥檚 been loved. If it could talk, it would tell probably about hundreds of concerts played throughout its life,鈥� Miltimore said.
He said his research from the serial number revealed the electric Gretsch, or Roundup 6130, was made in 1955 and similar to the instrument later played by country legend Chet Atkins.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a hollow-bodied guitar and a lot of companies were doing solid bodies at that time,鈥� Miltimore said, adding a hollow instrument was used for the country style of picking that Atkins popularized.
The guitar Latheur thought may be worth $200 is actually valued at between $12,000 and $26,000, Miltimore said, noting about 400 of the instruments were made in the 1950s.
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鈥淚 was blown away,鈥� Latheur said.
She recently learned her aunt treasured the mahogany guitar that kept her connected to her father, Roy Favell, who played his beloved instrument in a band called McKinna Gold.
鈥淗e caught his hand in a planer at a mill in Salmon Arm and he actually had to retrain to play the guitar,鈥� Latheur said.
Favell lost his thumb at age 21, but still managed to perform with it.
However, Favell inexplicably sold his guitar at a pawnshop. It was later rescued by Sherrie Favell and her mother, Latheur said.
Sherrie bought it back again when it was hocked a second time, Latheur said, and she kept it after her father died about 20 years ago.
Sherrie sometimes played the Credence Clearwater tune Bad Moon Rising on the guitar, but her prized possession spent much of its time hidden away, Latheur said.
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