Back in 1979 I played Trombone in a Junior High School Band. At the end of 8th grade, I earned a spot in a new Freshman Jazz Ensemble that was going to start the following Fall. Over the summer, my parents purchased me a brand new Conn 6H trombone. I played it a handful of times that summer but was really waiting for school to start to jump into it. Unfortunately, life had other plans; the band director had a heart attack that summer and retired, and the regular school band wouldn't fit in my schedule.

The Trombone got put away for the following year, and then the next, and the next. Fast Forward past college, marriage, 5 kids, and a 30+ year career and I've never gotten back around to playing it. My kids aren't interested, and after dabbling with keyboards and guitars, I finally found a home on an electric Bass guitar. While it would be cool to be a bass band again, it's not in the cards.

TL;DR

I have a 40+ year old Conn 6H Trombone that has only been played maybe a dozen times. It's in literally new condition. I'm not sure how to go about selling it. While I'd like to get a fair price, I'm more interested in getting it into the hands of someone who would appreciate it.

Any recommendations on how to determine a fair price? (An hour of Googling didn't yield an answer or a suggestion of where to look.) Any common dos and don'ts when selling an instrument?

Serial number GJ97#### => Slide Trombone manufactured October, 1979

The good news is there are a lot of 6hs sold on ebay, and the model remains popular. The bad news is that the main production of 6h stopped in the early 1970s, so a horn from 79 is kind of an outlier. A 1965 6h in basically NOS condition might bring ~$2000 or maybe more for the right buyer. If it were mine, I'd start it high and then bring it down over time. When it gets low enough, someone will buy it. Maybe start it at $1500.

I'd be curious to know what the engraving looks like.

Nice looking horn.

Conns from the 70s often don't go for such high prices because they don't have that Elkhart cachet, but yours is super minty and probably plays well. I've seen 6H trombones listed anywhere from $600-$1400 depending on vintage and condition. Reasonably common practice is to list it somewhere towards the top of that range and gradually bring the price down if no one snaps it up right away.

Looks great.

A mint 1952 78h just sold on ebay for $850.

As far as when it was made, it very well could have been sitting on a shelf in the music store for years. The 6H's were never stamped Elkhart, but it should be easy to date by the serial #. And I'm sure that those who know Conns better than I do can tell from the flanges(?) that hold the braces in place. This one looks like it has the diamond-shaped one on the main brace.

Find the serial number. There are several sites u can use to find the year it was produced. Once u have that info u can get a better idea of price. Generally $1-2000.