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Vintage Epiphone Wilshire Value Guide (1959 to 1970): Years, Body Shapes and How to Identify One
The Epiphone Wilshire is a two-pickup Kalamazoo solid body built from 1959 to 1970, with two volumes, two tones and a three-way switch. Early guitars carry two P-90s, later ones two mini-humbuckers. Matching original pickups, factory finish and no neck repair drive value. Call or text (440) 219-3607 or text us photos.
What makes a Wilshire a Wilshire
Gibson bought Epiphone in 1957 and built the line in Kalamazoo. Our dating guide covers serial numbers and labels. The Wilshire shares its slab body, its early thinning and its 1963 redraw with the Coronet, and the Coronet value guide lays those tells out, so we do not repeat them here. This page covers what is specific to the Wilshire.
That starts with the electronics. A Wilshire has two pickups, two volume knobs, two tone knobs and a three-way switch. It sat between the Crestwood and the Coronet in the line, and the Crestwood value guide covers the model above it. The first Wilshires carry two P-90s, per Vintage Guitar and Bass. The pickups are the part that changed. As the body was redrawn in the early to mid 1960s, the P-90s gave way to alnico mini-humbuckers, per Wikipedia and Vintage Guitar and Bass. Sources disagree on the exact year, so do not date a guitar by its pickups alone.
How to tell the Wilshire periods apart
Period | Pickups | Controls and hardware | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
1959 to the early 1960s | Two P-90 soapbars | Two volumes, two tones, three-way switch, vibrato optional | Original pickguard, two P-90s of the same era |
Mid 1960s to 1970 | Two alnico mini-humbuckers | Same controls, tune-o-matic, vibrato optional | Two matching mini-humbuckers, factory finish, California Coral on 1965 guitars |
1966 to 1968 | Check which type | Wilshire-12 (SB-432-12), no vibrato | Six tuners per side, long double-sided headstock |
Mismatches are the thing to look for. One P-90 and one mini-humbucker on the same guitar, or a pickup type that does not fit the rest of the guitar, means a swap. Two original pickups from the same guitar usually read close to each other on a meter, though not identical, so a pair that reads far apart deserves a question. We can usually spot the story in a few photos of the pickup routing and rings.
Vibrato, finishes and the Wilshire 12-string
The vibrato was a factory option. The 1964 catalog lists the Wilshire at $265 without vibrato and $292.50 with it. So a vibrato by itself is not a modification. What hurts is a missing arm, a swapped tailpiece, or a vibrato that has been removed and left screw holes behind.
Cherry is the finish you will see most. Epiphone also offered brighter custom colors in the mid 1960s, and California Coral is one of them: Vintage Guitar lists it among the solid body colors added in 1963, and Wikipedia notes it on 1965 Wilshires. Custom colors usually bring more than Cherry, but only when the paint is factory. A repaint in a custom color is worth less than an original Cherry guitar.
The Wilshire 12-string, catalog number SB-432-12, ran from 1966 to 1968. Vintage Guitar and Bass describes it as the same guitar as the six-string with a long double-sided headstock, six tuners a side and no vibrato. Its 1966 catalog price was $295. Epiphone sold very few of them. Vintage Guitar and Bass puts the total at about 183, and the catalog itself says they sold in relatively small numbers in 1966 and 1967. Jimi Hendrix, for what it is worth, played a six-string Wilshire, per Wikipedia and Ground Guitar.
Our 1964 Pacific Blue Wilshire, and why it looks green
In 2026, Edgewater bought a 1964 Wilshire in Pacific Blue from a seller in the Cleveland area who had owned it since the 1970s. It came with its original case and its original nickel hardware. Pacific Blue was one of the custom colors Epiphone offered on its Kalamazoo solid bodies, alongside Sunset Yellow and California Coral, per Vintage Guitar and Bass and The Unique Guitar Blog. Ours does not look blue anymore. It reads as a strong green, a color we have taken to calling Lake Erie green around the shop.
The blue paint did not change. The clear lacquer over it did. Lacquer yellows with age and light, as Guitar.com explains, and a yellowed clear coat over blue reads green. It is the same reason so many 1960s Fender guitars finished in Lake Placid Blue now look blue-green, per Planet Botch's history of that color. The giveaway is in the places light never reached: lift the pickguard or look in the control cavity, and the original blue is often still there. Aging finishes turning green is not only an Epiphone story, either. Our 1956 Goldtop guide covers the green Goldtop.
Buyers treat a faded original color very differently from a refinish. A faded factory custom color is still a factory finish, and the fade is part of the guitar's age. A guitar that has been sanded and resprayed in a custom color, even an accurate one, is a refinished guitar and sells like one. Stephen's own view is that a faded original custom-color Wilshire is one of the most undervalued guitars on the vintage market. If yours looks green, teal or oddly yellow, send a photo under the pickguard with the rest.
What a vintage Epiphone Wilshire is worth
Reverb's price guide is the best public record of what Wilshires actually sell for, and it splits them by era. Early guitars in its 1959 to 1962 listing sold for $5,500 to $6,999 in Very Good condition across 2025 and 2026, and Good examples brought $4,000 to $4,799 in 2022 and 2023. Guitars in its 1963 to 1970 listing sold for $3,995 in Very Good condition and $3,150 in Excellent condition in 2026, with a Good example at $1,949. Reverb records too few sales in either era to publish an estimate range, so read these as data points, not a price list. The spread inside each era is mostly about originality and repairs.
We did not find a recorded sale of a factory custom-color Wilshire, so a Pacific Blue, California Coral or Sunset Yellow guitar needs its own appraisal. Edgewater's cash offer usually lands about 20% under that market figure, and less for refinished or modified examples. Condition, finish and the pickups-body-headstock match move the number, so the accurate answer for yours is a free appraisal. For a quick ballpark first, try what's my guitar worth.
What moves a Wilshire's value
Factor | Effect on value |
|---|---|
Pickups, body and headstock all match one period | Higher. This is the first thing a buyer checks. |
Original finish, any color | Higher. Overspray at the neck joint or headstock shows up in dealer notes and costs money. |
Factory custom color (Pacific Blue, California Coral, Sunset Yellow) | Higher, if verified original. A yellowed clear coat over the color does not make it a refinish. |
Neck reset or reinforcing neck plate | Lower. Buyers price a reset or a plate as a structural repair. |
Refret, swapped nut, replaced bridge or tailpiece | Lower. Even a nice-playing guitar is no longer all original. |
Missing vibrato arm or replaced pots | Lower, and cheap to avoid if you still have the parts. |
Original case | Higher. The original case is part of the original package. |
Common problems to check
Neck joint. The Wilshire is a set-neck guitar with a short, thin body. Look closely for a reset, reinforcement plates and overspray around the joint.
Replaced pickups. Mini-humbuckers in a P-90 era slab body, or the reverse, change the story. Check the routing under the pickguard, not just the covers.
Swapped bridge and tailpiece. This is common and often done to fix a damaged vibrato. Compare the stud and bridge holes to the hardware in place.
Repaint. Cherry is easy to refresh. Look for paint in the control cavity and the pickup routs, and for overspray at the neck joint and headstock.
Reissue confusion. Epiphone has sold modern Wilshire reissues. A used reissue is a different guitar from a Kalamazoo original and sells for a small fraction of a vintage price, so confirm which one you have before you ask a number.
How to sell your Wilshire to Edgewater
Send front and back photos, a close-up of the headstock, the pickups and pickguard, the neck joint, and the control cavity if you can open it. Tell us about any repairs, replaced parts or refinish you know of. We will ask about them anyway. Then start a free estimate or see our sell your Epiphone page. Shipping is on us, from anywhere in the country, and you choose PayPal, a mailed check or cash in person. One recent seller put it this way: "Their customer service was excellent and they made me a fair offer within minutes of submitting info about my old guitar." (Stephen S., Google review, 2025).
Call or text (440) 219-3607 or text us photos.
Frequently asked questions
What pickups and controls should a Wilshire have?
Two pickups, two volume knobs, two tone knobs and a three-way switch. Early guitars carry two P-90s and later ones two alnico mini-humbuckers, per Wikipedia and Vintage Guitar and Bass. Sources disagree on the exact changeover year, so one P-90 and one mini-humbucker, or a type that does not fit the rest of the guitar, points to a swap.
Did Epiphone make a Wilshire 12-string, and is it worth more?
Yes. The SB-432-12 ran from 1966 to 1968 with a long double-sided headstock, six tuners a side and no vibrato. Epiphone built very few, about 183 by Vintage Guitar and Bass's count, so a clean one is scarce. We have not found a documented sale price for one, so it needs its own appraisal rather than a six-string comp.
Does a missing vibrato arm or replaced tailpiece hurt the value?
Yes. A vibrato was a factory option, so one by itself is fine. A missing arm, a swapped bridge or tailpiece, or leftover screw holes from a removed vibrato all lower the price.
How is a Wilshire different from a Gibson SG Special?
They share a lot. Both are Gibson-built Kalamazoo solid bodies from the 1960s, and the 1964 Epiphone catalog notes the Wilshire used hardware shared with the SG and Melody Maker. The SG Special carries two P-90s, while the redesigned Wilshire carries mini-humbuckers and an Epiphone batwing headstock. Check the headstock badge first, since that is the quickest way to tell which maker's guitar is in your hands.
What is a 1960s Epiphone Wilshire worth?
Reverb's price guide shows 1959 to 1962 Wilshires selling for $5,500 to $6,999 in Very Good condition in 2025 and 2026, and 1963 to 1970 guitars selling for $1,949 to $3,995 in 2026 depending on condition. Factory custom colors need their own appraisal. Edgewater's offer lands about 20% under market, and less when a guitar has been refinished or modified. Send photos through the form on our sell page, or text them, for a real number.
Why does my blue Epiphone Wilshire look green?
The clear lacquer over the color has yellowed with age, and yellow over blue reads green. The paint underneath is usually still the original Pacific Blue, which often shows under the pickguard or in the control cavity. A faded original custom color is still a factory finish, and it is worth more than a refinish.
By Stephen Pedone, co-owner of Edgewater Guitars. Last updated: October 2026.
