Help me identify this Conn cornet

[Kehaulani]

Folks, I'm planning on adverting this horn for sale but my info is sketchy, at best.

It was sold to me as an 80-A, but on closer scrutiny, I have my doubts. I could put a lot of questions at rest if I just had a serial number to go on. I not only have no SN, most of the engraving on the bell is too light to read. Additionally, the horn appears to have been relacquered because the lacquer is about 100% to me, and the engraving has been buffed out.

Studying the photos on Conn Loyalist, this horn does not have the interlocking rods from the tuning mechanism between the first valve and the player side. But it does not have a brace on the master tuning slide, which my photos of ab 80-A do not have. Additionally, on the third-valve slide where a finger hook might be, is a slot for a marching-band lyre.

I'm going to sell it for just a couple hundred bucks, it's otherwise a decent horn, but it is not worth a lot of time and research.

I've included a couple of photos. More will not be forthcoming.

Any observations you may have, would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Dale Proctor]

I’d guess it’s from the 1930s, since it has the older style valve body, caps, and finger buttons. It also has a pinky hook, a 2nd valve slide that sticks straight out, and no brace from the leadpipe down to the 3rd valve slide. Some of the parts aren’t correct, such as the braces between the bell and leadpipe, and the mouthpiece receiver, so it’s difficult to be certain about it. Have you measured the bore size? There were other Conn cornet models that looked like the 80A, but had smaller bores.

[Kehaulani]

@dale-proctor

No tools, Dale. Thanks for the guess on the age, though.

[Richard III]

Anyone want to guess why the serial number was removed? My thought is that it was stolen at some point.

[Kehaulani]

That's a possibility except there is no rough spot where the serial number should be. More likely that it was uniformly buffed down and then relacquered.

[Shifty]

This listing at Austin Custom Brass has a lot of similarity to yours. The location and style of bracing matches, but this one has a 3rd valve slide stop and no pinky ring. Looks like it might've had the connection for a mechanism on the first valve slide soldered over as well.

https://www.austincustombrass.biz/pre-owned-cornets/?sort=pricedesc&limit=12&mode=4&_bc_fsnf=1&brand=11

Trent doesn't mention the vintage, but the serial number would indicate 1924.

[Kehaulani]

Thanks for the link, Shifty. Problem solved, sort of. The serial number is on the inside of the valve, where the springs are. More info is available at: https://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=158920&highlight=