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Gretsch Single Anniversary Value Guide (1958 to 1972): 6124 and 6125
A Gretsch Single Anniversary is the one-pickup Anniversary, the budget cousin of the 6120, built in Brooklyn from 1958. Recent dealer listings and sales for 1958 to 1962 examples run from $1,850 to $4,700; condition sets the number more than the year. Edgewater Guitars in Valley City, Ohio buys vintage Gretsches across Ohio and nationwide. Call or text (440) 219-3607.
What a Gretsch Single Anniversary is, and how it differs from the Double
Gretsch launched the Anniversary in 1958, the company's 75th year in business, as a cheaper way to sell the 6120 body. It is the same 16-inch-wide, 2.5-inch-deep single-cutaway laminated maple archtop with the trim cut back: single-bound body, unbound fingerboard with Neo-Classic thumbprint markers, Space Control roller bridge, a G-cutout trapeze tailpiece instead of a Bigsby, and a square metal "Anniversary Model" nameplate on the headstock. Dave Hunter's histories for Guitar.com and Guitar Player put 1958 list prices at $225 for the Single, $310 for the Double and $475 for a 6120; Gretsch's 1965 catalog still had them at $235 and $295. The top of the same hollowbody line is covered in our Gretsch Country Gentleman value guide.
Single and Double mean one pickup or two. Both came in sunburst (Shaded Golden Sunburst in the 1965 catalog) or two-tone Smoke Green, the finish the model is known for. The model numbers, as Gretsch printed them in its 1965 and 1968 catalogs:
Model | Pickups | Finish |
|---|---|---|
6124 Single Anniversary | One | Shaded Golden Sunburst |
6125 Single Anniversary | One | Two-tone Smoke Green (two-tone Tan also cataloged by 1965) |
6117 Double Anniversary | Two | Shaded Golden Sunburst |
6118 Double Anniversary | Two | Two-tone Smoke Green |
So there is no "6118 Single Anniversary": the 6118 is the two-pickup guitar in green. The Double adds a pickup selector on the upper bout, a master volume on the cutaway and separate pickup volumes on the lower bout; the Single has one volume knob and the three-position tone switch.
Gretsch Anniversary changes by year, 1958 to 1972
Where the sources disagree, the table says so.
Years | Pickup and fingerboard | What else to know |
|---|---|---|
1958 to 1959 | Filter'Tron humbucker (the Ray Butts design, new in 1957); unbound ebony board | Trestle bracing on the early guitars; label serials about 27,000 to 34,000 |
1960 | Transition year: HiLo'Tron single-coil and rosewood board arrive; some 1960s still have the Filter'Tron and ebony | Guitar.com and Premier Guitar say 1960, MusicRadar says 1961. Read the guitar, not the year |
1961 to 1964 | HiLo'Tron, rosewood board | Same body and trim; label serials about 39,000 to 77,000 |
1965 to 1968 | HiLo'Tron; the Double has a bound fingerboard by the 1965 catalog, the Single does not | 1965 catalog: Single $235, Double $295; serials move to a headstock date code in 1965 or 1966; Baldwin buys Gretsch in 1967; both models still in the 1968 catalog |
Early 1970s | Single Anniversary dropped | The Twelfth Fret dates the run 1958 to 1972; Guitar.com says it was deleted under Baldwin. The last year is not settled |
The pickup is the change that matters most. The early Filter'Tron is the same humbucker a 6120 of the period carries, and it is why a 1958 or 1959 Single Anniversary can bring more than a HiLo'Tron guitar from a few years later; the HiLo'Tron is a lower-output single-coil, brighter and cleaner. The changeover was not tidy, as the serial numbers below show. Folkway Music adds that the early guitars are trestle braced where later ones use tone bars, and dates that change to 1960 as well.
How to date a Gretsch Single Anniversary
From 1958 to 1965 the serial number is on a paper label inside the body, read through the f-hole. Gretsch moved from a white rectangular label to an orange oval on a gray-and-white background at serial 25,001 in 1957 and kept it until 1965, so every Anniversary from those years should carry the orange-and-gray label. Charts disagree by a few hundred at the year boundaries, so the crossover blocks can be either year.
Label serial | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|
27,000 to 30,000 | 1958 | First year: Filter'Tron, ebony board |
30,000 to 34,000 | 1959 | 30,000 to 30,999 can be late 1958 |
34,000 to 39,000 | 1960 | 34,000 to 34,999 can be late 1959; the pickup switch happens in this block |
39,000 to 45,000 | 1961 | 39,000 to 39,999 can be late 1960 |
46,000 to 52,000 | 1962 | Some charts start 1962 at 45,000 |
53,000 to 63,000 | 1963 | |
63,000 to 77,000 | 1964 | 63,000 to 63,999 can be late 1963 |
77,000 to 84,000 | 1965 | Last label serials; the headstock date code takes over |
Real guitars fit the chart: Imperial Guitar and Soundworks' 1958 6124 is serial 29177 with a Filter'Tron; The Twelfth Fret's 1959 6125, serial 34731, still has a Filter'Tron; its 1960 6124, serial 35762, has a HiLo'Tron, as does Chicago Music Exchange's 1960 6117, serial 37540. MusicRadar's featured 1960 6118 still has Filter'Trons, so the line is soft.
From 1965 or 1966, depending on the chart, the serial became a date code stamped on the back of the headstock: the first one or two digits are the month, the next digit is the last digit of the year, and the rest is the unit number that month; Guitarinsite's example is 58321, May 1968, guitar 321. Our Gretsch serial number and dating guide covers every Gretsch numbering system from Brooklyn through Baldwin to the modern Japanese-built guitars. If you would rather skip the charts, upload a photo for a free identification and value range.
Binding rot and neck resets: the two problems that decide a Gretsch's price
On a Gretsch of this era these two items move an offer more than the year, the finish or the case.
Binding rot
The body binding on these guitars is celluloid, cellulose nitrate plastic. Over decades its plasticizer gasses out and leaves brittle nitrocellulose behind, so the binding shrinks, discolors, cracks into tiny segments and crumbles. The material is the problem, not the owner. Woodstock luthier Martin Keith, in Acoustic Guitar, says that among the makers affected, "Gretsch is by far the most common that I've encountered." The gas also does damage beyond the binding: Keith notes it can "attack the integrity of protein-based adhesives such as hide glue" and blacken fret ends, and guitarhq flags deteriorating binding and glue as the reason old Gretsches end up needing binding replacement and neck sets.
The only real fix is to strip it and rebind. Keith's view is that "rotting binding needs to be removed and replaced," that stabilizing it is temporary, and that "given the cost and labor involved with replacing rotten binding, many players choose to just live with it." Strange Guitarworks' write-up of a vintage Gretsch rebind shows why: every scrap of old celluloid comes off before the new ABS binding goes on, without disturbing the finish beside it. It is a major, expensive repair that also costs originality.
On an Anniversary it starts at the heel and along the cutaway, and dealer listings read like a binding survey. Lark Street Music's 1960 6125: all excellent except a 3-inch strip at the heel that "is starting to go." Carter Vintage's 1962 6124: "minor binding rot along the cutaway." Folkway Music's 1959 6124: none. What it does to an offer: clean binding is the exception and gets priced as one; a short failing strip at the heel is normal and takes a modest amount off; rot around the whole body means a full rebind, and the offer reflects that repair plus the lost originality.
Neck resets
A neck reset is needed when the neck's angle to the body no longer lets the guitar play. Gerry Hayes of Haze Guitars describes it: wood settles and string tension pulls the geometry around over time, the action creeps up, and once the bridge or saddle is as low as it goes with the action still high, a reset is the only cure. The neck comes out, a wedge is removed from the heel so it tilts back, and it is reglued at the corrected angle; a fret level or refret usually follows. The quick check, per Martin Keith in Acoustic Guitar, is a straightedge on the frets: the plane of the fret tops should line up close to the top of the bridge.
Gretsch necks add a wrinkle. The neck sits in a tenon joint, not a dovetail; a Gretsch-Talk repair thread says a shop needs to know that before it starts, and that some techs quote high on Gretsch resets to avoid the work. A loose joint is the other trigger: Chicago Fret Works' 1960 6120 needed its reset because the neck was "loose and wiggling around in the pocket," and the forum's advice is to take the strings off and rock the neck. Resets are routine on this model: Imperial Guitar and Soundworks' 1958 6124 had one plus a refret before sale; Nationwide Guitars' 1960 6125 had a professional reset with some clear overspray.
What it does to an offer: a guitar that needs a reset is priced with the reset and refret taken off, a big share of a $2,000 guitar. A reset done well by a known shop is not a deal-breaker, but the guitar is no longer untouched, and overspray on the heel counts as finish work. Our guide to where to sell a vintage Gretsch compares the dealer route with Reverb, eBay, consignment and pawn shops.
What a Gretsch Single Anniversary is worth in 2026
Real, named dealer figures; asking prices are labeled as asking. Carter Vintage in Nashville sold a 1962 6124 in sunburst, original electronics, new nut, minor binding rot along the cutaway, for $1,995. Imperial Guitar and Soundworks listed a 1958 6124 in sunburst, serial 29177, Filter'Tron intact but after a neck reset and refret, a replaced pickup bezel and volume pot and some cracked back binding, at $1,958 on Gbase, marked sold. Lark Street Music in Teaneck, New Jersey is asking $1,850 for a 1960 6125 in Smoke Green with the HiLo'Tron and that failing strip of heel binding. Rivington Guitars in New York is asking $2,495 for a 1958 single-pickup Anniversary in sunburst described as clean and all original with the original case. At the top, Guitar Traders Tokyo is asking $4,700 for a 1959 6125 in Smoke Green in excellent condition with slight fading.
The two-pickup Double Anniversary sits in the same band. Chicago Music Exchange is asking $1,866 for a worn 1960 6117 in sunburst with HiLo'Trons and a missing pickguard, and Jay Rosen Music is asking EUR 2,760 for an all-original 1961 6118 in green with what the listing calls reasonable binding.
The pattern: a 1958 or 1959 in clean original condition asks $2,495 to $4,700; HiLo'Tron guitars from 1960 to 1962, and any guitar with a reset, a rebind or swapped parts, list or sell around $1,850 to $2,000. What Edgewater offers. Edgewater's cash offer on a guitar like that would typically land around 20% under those figures, and lower for refinished or modified examples. Binding rot pulls the offer down by the cost of the rebind plus the originality hit; a needed neck reset does the same with the reset and refret. Condition, originality and finish move the number, so the accurate answer for yours is a free appraisal: call or text (440) 219-3607.
The two 1958 Single Anniversaries Edgewater bought in Ohio
Edgewater bought two 1958 Gretsch Single Anniversaries this summer, one in sunburst (Gretsch's 6124) and one in Smoke Green (the 6125). Both came from their original owners, and both were bought in person for cash, one near Columbus and one near Dayton. Both were in excellent condition for their age: neither needed a neck reset, neither had binding rot, and the original Filter'Tron pickup on each sounds great. First-year guitar, original owner, clean binding, sound neck joint, original humbucker: the listings above show how rare that combination is. We don't publish what we paid. Our Columbus and Dayton pages explain how selling to us works locally, and we come to you.
Sell your Gretsch Anniversary
Edgewater Guitars buys Single and Double Anniversaries from 1958 through the Baldwin years, in every condition: first-year Filter'Tron guitar, 1960s HiLo'Tron player, or one that needs a rebind and a reset. We show you the comps behind the offer, travel for the right guitar, and pay by cash or check the same day. Get a free estimate or call or text (440) 219-3607. Our sell your Gretsch page explains how the process works.
From a recent Google review: "I gave Gavin a call about my Gretsch and he met me with cash the same afternoon. Highly recommended." (Pierce Hoffmann, April 2025)
Frequently asked questions
How much is a vintage Gretsch Single Anniversary worth?
Recent dealer figures for 1958 to 1962 examples run from $1,850 to $4,700: Carter Vintage sold a 1962 6124 for $1,995, Lark Street Music asks $1,850 for a 1960 6125, and Guitar Traders Tokyo asks $4,700 for a 1959 in Smoke Green. Binding rot and a needed neck reset pull the number down. Free appraisals: (440) 219-3607.
Is the Gretsch 6118 a Single Anniversary?
No. In Gretsch's catalogs, 6118 is the Double Anniversary in two-tone Smoke Green and 6117 the Double in sunburst; the single-pickup guitars are 6124 in sunburst and 6125 in Smoke Green. Listings mix the numbers up constantly, so count the pickups and check the finish before you search for comps.
How can I tell a 1958 or 1959 Single Anniversary from a 1960s one?
Look at the pickup and the fingerboard. A 1958 or 1959 has a Filter'Tron humbucker, an ebony fingerboard and a label serial between roughly 27,000 and 34,000. From 1960 the HiLo'Tron single-coil and a rosewood board take over, and from 1965 or 1966 the serial is a date code on the back of the headstock.
Does binding rot ruin a Gretsch Anniversary's value?
It lowers it, sometimes a lot, but the guitar is still sellable. A short crumbling strip at the heel is normal on these and takes a modest amount off. Binding cracking and shrinking around the whole body means a full replacement, a major repair, and the offer reflects that cost plus the lost originality.
Where can I sell a vintage Gretsch Anniversary in Ohio?
Edgewater Guitars buys vintage Gretsch Anniversaries across Ohio and nationwide. We bought two 1958 Single Anniversaries in person this summer, one near Columbus and one near Dayton, and we travel for the right guitar. Send photos for a free appraisal, or call or text (440) 219-3607.
By Stephen Pedone, co-owner of Edgewater Guitars. Last updated: September 2026.
Sources
The history of Gretsch Anniversary models (Dave Hunter), Guitar.com: guitar.com
A Hero's Gretsch 6117 (Willie G. Moseley), Vintage Guitar magazine: vintageguitar.com
Old gold: '60 Gretsch 6118 Double Anniversary, MusicRadar: musicradar.com
The Gretsch Double Anniversary is a Budget Ride to Atkins Country (Dave Hunter), Guitar Player: guitarplayer.com
A Double-Trouble Guitar with a No-Worries Price (Richie Owens), Premier Guitar (used for the 1958 introduction, the 1960 pickup change and the 1967 Baldwin sale only): premierguitar.com
1965 Gretsch catalog, Anniversary page (PX6117, PX6118, PX6124, PX6125, prices), Vintage Guitar and Bass: vintageguitarandbass.com
1968 Gretsch catalog index (Single and Double Anniversary still listed), Vintage Guitar and Bass: vintageguitarandbass.com
List of vintage Gretsch electric guitars (6117/6118 Double Anniversary, 6124/6125 Single Anniversary), Vintage Guitar and Bass: vintageguitarandbass.com
GretschTech: Picking the Pickups (Filter'Tron, Ray Butts, 1957), Gretsch Guitars: blog.gretschguitars.com
Gretsch vintage guitar info and serial numbers, guitarhq.com: guitarhq.com/gretsch.html
Gretsch serial numbers by year, Guitarinsite: guitarinsite.nl
Gretsch serial number decoder and dating charts, guitarserialnumbers.com: guitarserialnumbers.com
Gretsch guitar serial numbers by year, Tone Wolf: tonewolf.com
Ask the Expert: All About Celluloid Rot (Martin Keith), Acoustic Guitar: acousticguitar.com
Replacing binding on a vintage Gretsch, Strange Guitarworks: strangeguitarworks.com
Neck Reset: The Theory (Gerry Hayes), Haze Guitars: hazeguitars.com
How to Fix Problems Caused by Incorrect Neck Angles (Martin Keith), Acoustic Guitar: acousticguitar.com
Vintage 1960 Gretsch 6120 restoration (neck reset), Chicago Fret Works: chicagofretworks.com
Time for a neck reset? (tenon joint, rocking the neck), Gretsch-Talk forum: gretsch-talk.com
1962 Gretsch 6124 Single Anniversary, sunburst ($1,995, sold), Carter Vintage: cartervintage.com
1958 Gretsch 6124 Single Anniversary, serial 29177 ($1,958, marked sold), Imperial Guitar and Soundworks via Gbase: gbase.com
1960 Gretsch 6125 Single Anniversary, Smoke Green ($1,850 asking), Lark Street Music via Gbase: gbase.com
1958 Gretsch single-pickup Anniversary, sunburst ($2,495 asking), Rivington Guitars via Gbase: gbase.com
1959 Gretsch 6125 Single Anniversary, Smoke Green ($4,700 asking), Guitar Traders Tokyo via Gbase: gbase.com
1960 Gretsch 6117 Double Anniversary, serial 37540 ($1,866 asking), Chicago Music Exchange via Gbase: gbase.com
1961 Gretsch 6118 Double Anniversary, green (EUR 2,760 asking), Jay Rosen Music via Vintage and Rare: vintageandrare.com
1960 Gretsch 6125, factory left-handed, professional neck reset (neck-reset data point only), Nationwide Guitars via Gbase: gbase.com
1959 Gretsch 6124 Anniversary (trestle bracing, Filter'Tron, clean binding), Folkway Music: folkwaymusic.com
1959 Gretsch 6125 Single Anniversary, serial 34731, The Twelfth Fret: 12fret.com
1960 Gretsch 6124 Single Anniversary, serial 35762, HiLo'Tron, The Twelfth Fret: 12fret.com
1963 Gretsch 6124 Anniversary (the 1958 to 1972 date), The Twelfth Fret: 12fret.com
1961 Gretsch 6118 Double Anniversary, sunburst (single-bound top and back, rosewood board; sold, no price), The Fellowship of Acoustics via Vintage and Rare: vintageandrare.com
