Old Steinway Piano Value: What a 1900s, 1920s or 1940s Steinway Is Worth

Steinway & Sons has been building pianos in New York since 1853, and because the company never changed its basic designs, a Steinway built a century ago is still the same model a dealer sells today. That is why old Steinways hold value in a way no other old piano does. It is also why pricing one is harder than pricing a new one: age, originality and the quality of any restoration all pull in different directions. This guide covers how to date an old Steinway, what the eras mean, and what vintage examples are asking on this site right now.

Date it from the serial number

Every Steinway carries a serial number on the plate, visible from above on a grand and behind the top panel on an upright. Steinway publishes its production records, so the number gives the year directly. The approximate milestones below are a quick orientation; confirm the exact year with Steinway's own lookup.

The eras and what they mean

• 1850s to 1890s. The earliest Steinways, including the square grands and the first uprights. Interesting historically, but most unrestored examples are worn out, and square grands in particular have little market.
• 1890s to 1930s. The period collectors and rebuilders call the golden era. Steinway was at full production with its designs settled, and the grands from these decades are the most sought-after vintage Steinways.
• 1940s and 1950s. Wartime and post-war production. Fine pianos, now seventy to eighty years old, and the youngest Steinways that usually need a full rebuild rather than reconditioning.
• Uprights of any era. Steinway's vertical pianos, including the tall pre-war uprights, are excellent instruments but sell for a fraction of a grand of the same age.

Original versus rebuilt

An old Steinway is really two different products. An original, unrestored piano with its first strings, hammers and soundboard is valued for what it will become after a rebuild, less the cost of that rebuild. A properly rebuilt Steinway, with a new or repaired soundboard, new pinblock, strings, hammers and action parts, is valued close to a lightly used modern one. Who did the rebuild matters as much as the fact of it: a documented rebuild by a known shop is worth far more than an unknown one.

Ask for the paperwork. A rebuilt Steinway without an invoice describing the work is priced as if the work were never done.

What old Steinways are asking right now

The live tables below come from the listings on this site. The brand table shows the median asking price for Steinway against the other major makes today. The Model M, O, L, A, B and D guides list every example of each model currently for sale here, with its year, so you can see how the pre-war examples are priced against the post-war ones directly.

What moves the price of an old Steinway

1. Model and size. A Model D or B commands the most, an upright the least, with M, O, L and A in between.
2. Era. Golden-era grands carry a premium with collectors and rebuilders.
3. Restoration status and who did it. See above.
4. Originality of the case. Art cases, original ivories in good condition and untouched veneers add value; refinished cases are neutral; damaged ones subtract.
5. Factory. Hamburg and New York pianos are both Steinways, and buyers have preferences that show up in price.

Selling one

Have a technician who knows Steinways assess it before you set a price, and photograph the serial number, the plate, the soundboard and the action. Then compare it with the live listings for its model here. Old Steinways sell to a national market, not a local one, so listing it where buyers search by model matters more than it does for any other brand.