Again, thanks for your support and information. It would be great if anyone could recommend nearby consignments, or shops in the area. I too feel "Guitar Center" may not be in my best interest. Also have no idea how to go about cleaning.
Most important issue is to be are that guitar has a
Nitro
Cellulose
Lacquer ("NCL") finish; which is susceptible to damage from solvents like acetone, toluene and plasticizers which are present in various rubbers (to keep 'em soft), so don't store it on that stand, the rubber sleeves can react with the finish leaving gummy stripes where they touched the guitar.
It takes a while but now you know.
Second thing is cleaners: Depends on how bad it is.
Naptha (lighter fluid) dissolves most surface grime and won't damage NCL.
There's a brand of cleaner/polish, Virtuoso, which has a mild enough cleaner for NCL and a polish that also is compatible with it (no silicones, they can contaminate the wood if they get to it through cracks; so your typical furniture polish is out.
Do NOT use microfiber cloths, the plastic they're made of is harder than the NCL and will cause micro-
scuffing. Plain white
pure cotton t-shirt material's ideal.
Cleaning fretboard:
Again depends on how much "stuff" is built up, but I'm an advocate of simple water on a microfiber pad (it's ok on fretboards) and some elbow grease, it's least damaging to the bare wood.
Again. no polish with silicones on the fretboard but it and the bridge benefit from periodic (like maybe once annually at most) treatment with a conditioner like boiled linseed oil, or "bore oil" used on things like woodwind instruments.
Your pics show what look to be a guitar in pretty decent condition, what we like to see is a shot of the strings right over the 12th fret taken from the side, we're trying to get an ide how high the strings are from the fretboard at that point, called "action height". We hope it's about 6/64" or less.
That's going to vary according to
height of bridge and saddle combined, we'd like to see about 1/2" +/- 32nd maybe, with saddle (the plastic part) about 3/8" tall at highest point.
Checking neck angle: lay about a 2-foot straightedge, (ruler) along the fretboard an extend it to the bridge. We'd like to see the end of the straightedge align with the top of the bridge (the wooden piece).
If it meets the bridge somewhere below its top edge it's an indication that the neck is being affected by the string tension, correcting it is the single most expensive potential repair.
It's a fact of life for most guitars, eventually they all need it and a very slight offset might not require the repair for a long time if at all.
A guitar like that F47 is has enough intrinsic value to be worth repairing.
"Bluegrass F47"? It was introduced when Guild had introduced a new line of flattops that were intended to appeal to bluegrass players.
The very first F47's even had horses and a shoe on the pickguards:
I'm thinking if the finish is intact on your guitar in terms of no major missing chunks (it looks ok in pics) and the rest is structurally sound (thinking of braces inside the guitar all being intact and securely glued, and binding all still present and attached, and tuning machines in good order, and no other body cracks, you've probably got around a $900.00 piece.
A couple more details:
There's a rod inside the neck to adjust its flatness, it should be functional. (The nut is accessed under the little piece of plastic on the headstock, sometimes they can seize up).
Bridge should be securely attached to top with no appearance of "lifting" at the back (edge closest to bottom of guitar).
And finally, most likely on a guitar this old that may have been subjected to fluctuations in humidity, primarily not
enough; cracks in the top, especially from the bridge to the bottom edge, close to the center, and next from the end of the fretboard to the edge of the soundhole.
While not catatstrophic and easily repairable, it's another detail Elderly will check for.
I'm not sure if there's any desirability for "last year", but it's possible.
Any F47's from '70-'73 should be similarly valued, I think, to help you assess the market as you did with those other listings.
There are also ways to check what instruments
sold for on eBay, as opposed to what they
listed for.
Final note is I can't recall ever hearing any negative feedback about Elderly, and I suspect they'll be a heck of a lot more reliable appraisal venue than a Guitar Center, unless you happened to luck out and get a really good person at GC that day.
so not sure how to go about shipping...that is why I thought about "Guitar Center". I am in Livonia, Michigan 48154 area. Sincere, thanks!!!
We value cases at around $100.00-$150.00.
Keep us posted on your progress, if it becomes relevant for shipping purposes I'm sure you'll get advice, in the worst "case" (sorry) finding a case to fit it isn't a big problem.
Other folks may point out details I've forgotten so keep checking back for a couple of days before heading out to Elderly.
Most likely requests will be for close-ups and more pics of specific spots, take 'em as indications of genuine interest in potential purchase.
Good luck!