UPDATED: Authentic Roy Acuff Fiddle Surfaces at Kansas City Goodwill
UPDATE: 1/6/18 10:30 a.m. CST: The fiddle once belonging to Roy Acuff has been pulled from an online auction after the rightful owner came forward and said the fiddle was donated by mistake. After showing verification of ownership, the fiddle was returned to the owner. Bids had reached above $8,000 before being taken off of auction.
“That person, who wishes to remain anonymous, informed Goodwill that the item was a family heirloom mistakenly donated by a family member,” reads a press release from CEO of Goodwill Western Missouri & Eastern Kansas, Kevin Bentley. “Upon verification of the instrument’s ownership, Goodwill suspended the online bidding process, removed the fiddle from Goodwill’s items for sale and returned it to the owner. Goodwill appreciates how valuable this fiddle is to music lovers. It is also a family heirloom that came into our possession by mistake. Because of that, we have honored the request to return the item. [We apologize] for any inconvenience this might have caused for any of our shoppers.”
The original story continues below
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Imagine stumbling into a thrift store and finding the mother of all country music treasures? This is the dream of every thrift store hound has as they sift through reams of outdated clothing and knick knacks looking for that one-of-a-kind item. And even though this particular treasure didn’t slip by the thrift store staff and end up in a bargain bin for $5.99, it still makes for a compelling story.
A authentic fiddle owned by country music legend Roy Acuff is up for auction at a Kansas City Goodwill after being anonymously donated to a local store. The fiddle was handmade by Roy Acuff’s uncle Evart Acuff who made many of Roy’s fiddles, and who numbered each one. This particular fiddle was constructed in Maryville, TN in August 1945, and is numbered #19. A sticker inside the fiddle bears its authenticity (though Maryville is misspelled ‘Merryville’), and the fiddle also includes paperwork verifying what it is, and who it’s from.
“We recognized right away that it was something special and we now have it up for auction,” says Gary Raines, who runs Goodwill’s e-commerce program in Kansas City. “We have no information on the owner. They just donated it and moved on. … The certificate of authenticity and other paperwork are copies but we are confident that it’s the real thing.”
The handmade fiddle is made of apple wood from a tree on a family farm. There is now word on how the fiddle ended up in Kansas City. But there is a letter included that is dated 2003 and helps verify its authenticity. The letter is written by to to Roy Acuff’s 2nd cousin Charlie Boyd Acuff of Alcoa, Tennessee. Charlie Acuff was also a noted fiddler who often played locally, and passed away on November 22, 2013.
The Roy Acuff fiddle is currently up for auction at Goodwill.org with a top bid at time of print at over just over $8,000.
Roy Acuff was arguably country music’s first superstar, helping to make the Grand Ole Opry into a nationally-syndicated radio show, and presiding over country music during its ascent to a major American music genre. He was commonly referred to as the “King of Country Music” even before later stars such as Hank Williams and George Strait. Roy Acuff died in 1992 at the age of 89.
January 4, 2018 @ 11:12 am
Cool. I wonder if Marty Stuart will buy it to add to his collection.
January 4, 2018 @ 12:10 pm
If anyone could get it, it should be him. I’d give my eyeteeth to sit amongst his collection for an hour.
January 4, 2018 @ 11:32 am
King George is the king but that would be sweet to git that fiddle
January 8, 2018 @ 3:02 pm
roy acuff was the king when king George was in his fathers nutsack
January 4, 2018 @ 11:35 am
almost makes me wonder where my highlander mandolin will be in 100 years or so…
January 4, 2018 @ 5:35 pm
As someone who loves to search thrift shops and flea markets, I absolutely love to hear stories like this.
January 4, 2018 @ 6:28 pm
Cool story but I would have loved to hear that someone regular guy who loved music found it and bought it for $10.
January 4, 2018 @ 7:06 pm
Blake Shelton will buy it and embalm it in amber as a relic from the “old farts and jackasses” of years gone by. And so will be lost a priceless instrument
January 4, 2018 @ 7:11 pm
Great story. I hate to think if I wasn’t a blogger I may have missed this one.
January 5, 2018 @ 1:31 am
Roy Acuff was the king that built the country music empire. If you don’t know who he is then you’d better learn. This is not just a piece of country music history but american history. I’m ready to go rob a bank so I can bid on this (yes… I’m joking) but for how much I or anyone else would like to have this fiddle I can’t help but feel that it should have a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. It’s like Mother Maybelle Carter’s guitar… something that made country music and should be shared with generations to come.
January 5, 2018 @ 8:30 am
Right on Desperado! You are spot on in that assessment. Acuff is right there with Carter Family, Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers as solid Country & Western bedrock. If there were a Mt. Rushmore for Country Music, he would be there. Charlie Daniels has often referred to him as The King of Country Music. Unfortunately, the younger generation hasn’t discovered him yet. Currently, they seem to be infatuated with the Outlaw Era. Nothing wrong with that at all, but Roy Acuff represents the much deeper roots of this music. I think The Smithsonian would be another good candidate for this treasure.
January 5, 2018 @ 5:48 am
Roy’s uncle was a good craftsman.
Hard to say from a picture, but it looks very well made.
Apple wood….. not sure, but I think that’s unusual for making a stringed instrument.
January 5, 2018 @ 7:22 am
Many years ago, I happened upon an old, worn Bob Wills & Texas Playboys gig poster in an antique store in Cottonwood Falls, Kan. It didn’t have a price tag, so I asked how much it was. The man said, “Oh, that’s not supposed to be out here.” He took it from me. I offered him $50. He snapped, “It’s not for sale.” And that was the end of that.
January 5, 2018 @ 7:23 pm
It’s Friday about 9pm. When I first saw the article Friday afternoon and looked at the listing, the high bid was $8,002.00 with several bids (can’t remember how many, but it was several.) Now the auction seems to have ended a full day before it was supposed to and there are 0 bids and a high price of $5.00. I sent a message to Marty Stuart that the fiddle was being auctioned, but don’t know if he got it. Trigger, do you think you could get an update? Do you think it was a fake? Did someone (Stuart) or some entity (Country Music HOF) contact them and offer crazy money? It’s all very strange.
This is very interesting to me because my Great-aunt was married to Mr. Acuff’s 1st cousin, Homer, and my Great-grandmother is from Maryville.
January 5, 2018 @ 10:09 pm
Looking into it.
January 6, 2018 @ 9:42 am
This story has been updated. The owner of the fiddle has emerged, was able to prove ownership, and the auction was pulled. Statement from Goodwill above in the updated story.
April 2, 2018 @ 8:11 am
I Just wanted to throw this out there… But, I have just acquired a Evart Acuff Violin (#15) this past weekend. It is fantastic shape and will be up for sale.