I had the pleasure of playing a Marc Beneteau guitar a couple evenings ago. I`ve done as much research as I can, including his site, but I can`t seem to find info about his paper label practice.
Thing is, this guitar belongs to the non-playing daughter of the owner, who passed away five years ago. The daughter, and others who knew this rural lady, are convinced she purchased the guitar, the only instrument she owned, in 1977. I didn`t think to look at the neck block, where apparently I`d have found the serial number, but a paper label inside the sound hole read Marc Beneteau, Markham Ontario, and the number 1996.
The guitar is, I think, a smallish OM style (certainly smaller than my Epi DR). The strings on it are at least five years old and pretty dead, but even so, once tuned up it was a dream to play. It has a small ding on the bottom edge and the finish has cracked finely in several areas. I`ve advised the owner on keeping it humidified (has a really nice hard case with plush lining).
So my questions are, can anyone explain the paper label number, and advise me as to the possible value of this guitar. I`m afraid it will be out of my league and I wouldn`t want to make an offer that wasn`t fair.