Hi Anthony, Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry. Labels on the inside of violins are notoriously unreliable - this website does a good job of explaining it (https://stringsmagazine.com/an-insiders-guide-to-violin-labels/). I strongly suspect that this is a copy though without examining it in person, or playing it, it is difficult to know more specifically if this is an original. I have valued this based on the most likely assumption that it is a copy; if it were an original, the value would be in the six or even 7 figures. Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is: An antique full sized violin School of Nicholaus Amati Italian, 18th or 19th Century With spruce front (back?), ebony finger board, tuning pegs and chin rest, banding to the edges, hand-written paper label to the inside marked "Nicolas Amati / Cremona Fecit 1769" 22 1/2 inches overall length, greatest width 8 inches CONDITION: with wear and losses from age and use. PROVENANCE: inherited $200-400* *represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary. Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, and thank you again for using Mearto.
