Hi
I have two Overton A whistles that I bought from Mr. Overton himself in 1973 or 1974. One has hardly been used, because I tweaked the other one by opening up the windway to stop it clogging, and it soon became my go-to A whistle. Neither whistle has a stamp or maker’s mark of any kind, nor can I find any documentation to date the sale, though I once had a letter from Mr. Overton that came with one of them. (Could it really have been around £4 that I paid for each?)
I will be moving house soon and have been asked to give the value of all my whistles for insurance purposes - well, that’s pretty easy for most of them, but what on earth could be the value of (a) an untouched early Overton and (b) a much-used and much-loved tweaked one of the same vintage?
I wouldn’t think there’s much collector’s value associated with older, Bernard-made Overtons, in the sense that they would appreciate in value simply because of age and (now) scarcity. I don’t think there’s a particular demand. I’ve played both Bernard’s and Colin’s instruments. And while there are slight differences in voicing and other details, I’d probably choose the latter anyway, given the choice.
Not that yours are not great instruments, no doubt. But they’re basically just older whistles. And I’d think the current replacement value with one of Colin’s new A whistles would be the most straightforward insurance valuation
I suppose you could give a value for replacement with a new similar Goldie or Kerrie-Pro whistle. Otherwise I guess a market value of around £120 for each.