Lets say you had an opportunity to buy a basic Philadelphia Silverode watch case with a nice locomotive on the back and you estimate good value at $75.

Then along comes another, same type/condition of case with exactly the same locomotive on the back but it's serial number is way off indicating the back came from another case.

At what percentage would you discount the value and why? I know many would not even be interested but if so what if it contained a movement that you wanted?

Also, how would you proceed in the same scenario but it being a gold filled case?

If the numbers of a particular case are Non-Matching [another words, a pieced together case],

Whatever the material,

I personally would discount it by 25%-33% when purchasing and give the same discount if I sold it.

But.....

I probably wouldn't buy it to begin with if I knew the case was a pieced together item.

I would expect to see a few more of these mis-matched case numbers into the future since there is so much scrapping going on and I feel sure some of the scrappers will put together a case or three out of their stockpiled parts where one or two of the case parts will be good on each case.

regards,
bb

If its a gold filled case, I probably would not buy it unless it was for a carry watch. I would expect the 33% off Buster mentioned to be the price.
If its a silveroid type case and the 33% off I would buy it. The reason is that the silveroid is more of a utilitarian item. In other words, its not what its made of but that its useful because of its durability. Especially since its more likely to be a a carry watch and the case is going to be subject to wear.
This takes into account that the covers all fit together correctly and that you don't have to fight the covers on and off. If I have to fight to get the covers on and off no amount of savings is worth it.

Thanks boys, this is just a hypothetical situation but I had been leaning more toward 50%.

Jim, good point, they are a utilitarian item.

Another problem with mis-matched cases is that the design on the back may not line up with the crown when screwed down tight.Nothing looks worse than a design that's way off!!!...