How does one determine the price on 78's

I have a collection of 78's, under ten different label companies, i cannot find a year.. Here are the label companies- Columbia-Masterworks(green), Columbia(Red), Decca-(blue), Decca(black), Capital(black), Okeh, The HIt Record, Bluebird(Blue&silver), Bluebird(blue&gold), Bluebird(Electronically Recorded). I also have a ? recorded record, looks like a minature album, but close to the size of a 45, made in 1941, it's a burning disc, so i don't even know what's on it. Who can help me, i'm new at this and don't know where to look, Can someone help me or direct me on my path of Oldies.

They all sound like pretty common labels, but label seldom determines value anyway. Contents & condition have more to do with value.
There really are no set values for records of any type, and the best way to determine value is by watching online auctions, and seeing what the same record in the same condition sells for over 3 or 4 different auctions.
Prices can vary widely from one auction to the next, so it's best to see the results of a few auctions for the same title, and average it out. This can take months or even years though, as rare title dont turn up very often.
It's not unusual to see a record or cylinder sell for a high price, but then the next 5 examples only reach a fraction of what the first sold for. I think when collectors see a title sell for $100, they get all excited & list their copies, hoping to get the same sort of price, but then they only get $10 a copy because the markets been flooded, and the guy with deep pockets who got the $100 record has his "expensive" copy, and the under bidder now has 5 copies to bid on, can see they're not so rare afterall, and and can obtain a copy at it's true value- $10.
Unfortunately, the bitter truth about 78rpm records is they are seldom worth more than a dollar or two each. Most were pressed in the tens of thousands & are by no means rare.

I was on line trying to find artists on 78's, to try to get a year of when they were recorded, but i could,nt find anything. I did find out music by Les Paul could be valuable, but not sure. ALot the these artists i have never heard of, i.e Jimmy Rodgers, The Pied Pippers, Curt Massey, Tex Ritter, Al Dexter & his Troopers, Andy Russell, Kate Smith, & Jimmy Davis. Would they have made tens of thousands of these recording. I have these 78's ican see tens of thousand made, i.e. Mills Brother, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby & Judy Garland, Jimmy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald, Gene Autry, & the famos Benny Goodman & his Orchestra. What site if you know could give me the year the 78 was recorded, or the site you mentioned where in can see collectors auctioning prices. I thank you for the information you sent to me.

rayvama wrote:I was on line trying to find artists on 78's, to try to get a year of when they were recorded, but i could,nt find anything. .. . A Lot the these artists i have never heard of, i.e Jimmy Rodgers, The Pied Pippers, Curt Massey, Tex Ritter, Al Dexter & his Troopers, Andy Russell, Kate Smith, & Jimmy Davis. Would they have made tens of thousands of these recording....

You can find many recording dates on this site, up until the 1950s, for most common and some uncommon labels -- http://www.78discography.com/

(Keep in mind, though, a recording date does not necessarily mean that the record you have was pressed and sold at that time, since many popular recordings remained in the catalogs for years.)

Almost all of the names you've mentioned are very familiar to me. Most were VERY popular in their day.

Just as one example, Kate Smith, who's career spanned nearly 60 years, is an American icon, and is most famous for her rendition of "God Bless America," one of the most popular US recordings ever issued.

See -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnQDW-NMaRs (Note: this film clip contains the introduction to the song, which most people--including most Americans--have never heard!)

In addition to a prolific recording career; (many of her classic recordings are available today in CD format -- http://www.amazon.com/Best-Kate-Smith/dp/B000002WFA ) she was also one of the pioneers of American radio broadcasting, and later, television. Check out the Wikipedia page on her -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Smith

I think that most of the others on your list also have Wikipedia pages. Some, like Jimmy Rogers, AKA "the Father of Country Music", have numerous websites devoted to them.

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As for the market value of the records, possibly eBay would be your best clue to the final selling price for individual records. There are actually numerous 78 auctions, run at different times, which you can find by doing a Google search for:

78 rpm auction

While most have a starting bid of about $2-3 for 78s today, unfortunately, they don't make the final selling prices available to the public.

There are also books available at most major bookstores, that provide "price guides" for old records, including 78s. Most collectors I know don't put much stock in them, though. Along this line, you may find this of interest: http://www.gracyk.com/value.shtml

HTH,
JDS

Speaking of Kate Smith's version of that song, I had a copy on a CD at one time--though it MAY have been something someone "burned"-- Ron Rich