Let's see. My fist guitar (1961) was $15 (brand new), and I've bought a few junkers in yard sales.

Then there was the "guitar, $30" in the local shopper paper that turned out to be a 1932 Martin 0-18 (sunburst!). It took some work by a friend to set the neck and make it more playable (it wasn't so bad, but it did need the work).

I even bought a Martin 000-28 for $150 or so one day. It sounded tinny and actually pretty bad. I took it home to change the strings, and as I loosened the 6th string, the tone improved. I checked the tuning -- it was five frets high! I didn't even change the strings; tuning it to standard made it bloom. I took it to the Alexandria Folklore Center and put it up for sale at $300 and sold it that day. (This was around 1967, so the prices look so much better than today's).

But the top is the 1943 Martin 0-18 I still have, which came as a gift. Of course, resetting the neck (and replacing the bridge, which I'd planed too thin) cost $835, so the earlier 0-18 was the best buy.

Bob