I picked up a really beat up french horn at a yard sale this past weekend for $50. It was in a dated Yamaha hard case so I was hoping it would be a Yamaha. Upon further inspection after I got it home, I found the stamp on the bell..CG Conn Elkhart,Ind USA. After some more research I found the 8D stamped on the mouth receiver and the serial #K16828 under the keys. This thing is in the roughest shape I've ever seen an instrument(dents, dings, and scuffing of the brass) but it still is playable. Can anybody tell me how old this is and can I hope to get my $50 back by re-selling it? I'm really not a musician but I like picking up new items and doing some research on them and the design of the french horn is very beautiful and attracted me to it. Thanks!

According to Horn-u-copia it's going to be c. 1967. Just had a discussion about the good and bad 8D's. Yours will 99% certainty be one of the good ones. Depending on the damage, it sounds like it may need anywhere from $400 to $1000 in work. Why I say the high end is that often these beat to hell instruments were not well oiled either, so you end up with leaky valves and worn slides. But, after all that, good palying 8D's are going well over 2K and into the low threes. If it were good playing and in great shape, you could expect high threes and low fours. Good find why can't I find yard sales like that?

Wow, thanks, thats incredible. I will try to get an estimate for fixing it up but I imagine it will be $1000+. It was a lucky find as I know they can be valuable but I wasn't sure of the brand and age when I purchased it. $50 was just too good of a gamble to pass it up on an old, cool instrument.

additionally,
it has been brought to my attention that the horn appears to have a brass finish and someone claimed that makes this a 28D. Is that correct? even though the receiver says 8d and the serial number lines up to a 8d? Thanks in advance