Hello all!
Here is a pict of one of my prize possessions. This is a 9 foot and 4 inch Gordon and Smith long board. I have had great days of surfing on this board. It rides smooth and cataches the wave pretty early in comparison. My uncle bought this board in 1968 for $98 dollars and gave it to me about twenty years ago.
My question is. What do you all think this is worth?
Do you really want an answer? Then how about more than one photo.
Here are a few other pictures of my G&S. I put the hole in the fin for a leash. I also have a picture of a serial number I am guessing.
i qill go out on a limb here
and say 2.8 million dollars.
at auction you could get mebe
8 thousand fourhundred dollars
I would suggest insuring it for
$20,000.00 . Ninety eight dollars
was a good price for 1968 it was a cast off.
if you ding it it would be worth way less.
in the right circumstance girls will talk to you
if you walk around with this board
by the pier or at the cliffs.
I suggest wearing a pendelton and chucks
when carryin’ it , if you drive …
drive a 53 chevy two door.
take out the back seat and bench front seat
plywood in rhe whole interior to a flat floor
put in a bucket drivers seat
do a wall to wall carpet
so you can put the board inside
and eat plate lunch on athe floor.
… ambrose…
you will also have room
for wetsuits and shorter boards
fins mats hand planes
the board with the car
should go for about five million,
insure it for four million.
robsvtwin, I would think to you the board is priceless. As far as anybody else is concerned, whatever they are willing to pay. Here in the northeast a board in that condition, which is not uncommon one would ask $400-$700. Maybe more if there wasn’t a whole in the fin.
Dave
The hole in the fin certainly lowers any value the board might have. 400-700 is a bit wide ranging. I’d say more like 500 + or - a bit. As far age goes, my guess would be around 1965. $98 was good money for a second hand board in 1968. One year later, you would have had a hard time giving that board away.
With luck, Balsa Bill will add his opinion and maybe enlighten us. I’ll go out on a limb and guess the P stands for Paul Bordieri, who was shaping for G and S around that time.
Looks like the fin has been re-shaped a bit but no doubt you have the Holy Grail. Gotta be worth at least $5,000 at auction.
Not really. It looks like the bottom edge might have some wear from dragging on sand. But otherwise, it looks like a typical mid sixties fin.
Look at figure #73 in this PDF file. Pretty much the same exact fin.
http://stokednboard.surfingheritage.org/pdf/Gordon_and_Smith.pdf
What? it’s just a stock board from the mid 60s. Granted, it’s in remarkably good condition for its age. Even then, it isn’t a Hynson red fin or some other highly collectible model, and even those aren’t fetching $5k these days. In the right circumstances it might fetch 800 if two guys got in a bidding war over it. I stand by my estimate of a $500 value in today’s market.
Sammy, I assume he wasn’t serious. Wishing you a Merry Christmas.
Dave
I like posting to you all here. I completely agree that the board could be 400, 500 or even millions to the right person. When I took this board to the beach, I would get offers ranging from cash to custom new boards of my desire. It may have not been the best choice to drill a hole in the fin, if I was wanting to resale it but…this G&S will catch a wave and go all the way to shore with you or without you. This board hangs on my wall and I never get tired of looking at it and bringing in down from time to time. I am glad you guys are enjoying the sharing of my G&S. I also appreciate you sharing what you know about these boards.
It’s hard to discern tone of voice or intent via plain text, without the use of any smiley, winky, nudge-nudge emoticons.
Sammy I agree with you 100%. Robsvtwin it’s a little late now but they make stick on leash plugs that work very well. I don’t wear a leash very often, but I do have them on some of my boards for those times when I need to wear one.
Dave
I rarely wear a leash in waves under chest high. Any board that pre dates invention of the leash gets a glass leash bridge. They can easily be sanded off if needed and don’t detract from any board that has some miles on it. I put one on my own ‘vintage’ G and S.
It’s an 8’8" Hot Curl that’s identical to the one in this ad, with matching original yellow WAVESET fin.
This site really needs Smileys.
Good guess. I’m pretty sure that’s Paul Bordieri’s intitial on the board. I sure had plenty of boards shaped by Paul. The shape, the fin (too bad about the hole), everything would point to mid sixties.
Now the decal color could be a clue. There was the gold rectangle and there was the red rectangle. I can’t remember exactly when they changed from the gold to the red. It was when I was working at Keller’s which was from '64 to '67. I’m guessing that '66 was when they changed. Not entirely sure though.
At any rate that gold rectangle would put it in the earlier category.
And it’s hard to tell from the photos without a good shot of the outline or some dimensions but I’ll guess from the nose photo that it’s a Quarter Speed which was the most popular shape in the pre signature model era.
Twenty something years ago I wish I would have known of a “glass leash bridge” or stick on leash plug. Twenty something years ago I didn’t really think much of this board. Longboards were for old guys or beginners. Then one day everything was right. The sky was blue the water was clearer then most days and the surf had great shape. I paddled out on the G&S while my friend used my short stick and that was one of the best decisions. I was quite a ways out in comparison to others on the line and catching waves much earlier then others. I learned alot about surfing that day and remember that day as one of the best days on that board ever. This board get a lot more care now and I feel luck to have it.
Balsa Bill, Thank you. I thought this board was a 1968 but its really cool to learn that it seems more like a mid 1960’s. I have learned a quite a bit since posting some pictures.
Thanks again!
1968 - $98
2006 - $1,000
2014 - $500
It looks like my 401K. My accountant has informed me that everything cycles and I’ll be sitting pretty anytime real soon. I bet that K note is just around the corner for you too. Question, did she scream when you came at her with the power drill.
In 2006, Sam Ryan’s guide to collecting vintage boards said that a stock '65 G and S was worth 575 in average condition (5) and 3100 in near mint. (9). The board in question is about an 8 or 7.5 due to the hole in the fin. So, in 2006 it was supposedly worth about 1500-1800. Maybe more. People were paying silly amounts for 60s longboards through most of the 90s and up until 2008, or so. A good friend of mine brought 20 boards to Alan Seymour’s first auction and came away with $30k.
