$20,000 Fake?

[FrankenFretter]

This appears to have the wrong bridge, and shows no signs of finish checking. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure this is NOT a genuine 1952 LP. Granted, he does state that the bridge was replaced at the Gibson factory, but it looks too modern to be from the 50s.

 

[Zip]

Seller lives in S. Africa, has zero positive reviews on eBay (he's never sold anything before), refuses to post up photos of the headstock (does it say 'Gibsun'??)....I call B.S. on it, too.

 

[Katastrophe]

Throwing down the B.S. card until further proof of authenticity can be established... As it stands, the bridge is all wrong for a LP of that vintage... Not that I'm an expert either!

 

[hubberjub]

The bridge itself is wrong. It's definitely a replacement. It looks like a Badass, which is pretty common to see on older Gibsons but they definitely weren't making them in '53. Most of the '52s had a trapeze tailpiece that a lot of people hated and swapped out for a one piece stop tail like the ones they used up until '55. I've also seen a few that didn't have neck binding. The early models had a lot of inconsistencies. I wouldn't be so quick to call this one a fake yet. I'm not sure the rest of the guitar is original. The aging on the binding and fret markers looks good, but the lack of oxidation on the pickup poles is suspect. Also, it possibly was refinished at some point. The seller definitely seems a little sketchy.

 

[FrankenFretter]

If it is a refinish, that would explain the lack of finish checking, but that would also significantly decrease the value. I agree with Patrick that the pickups look too new for a '52. Then again, the seller definitely hasn't done any "relicing" to try and make it look more convincing. Maybe the climate in South Africa agrees with guitars and that's why it looks so new. Maybe. Probably not, though.