Most Valuable Music Boxes Still in Circulation

2025-01-05

Music Box

If you have some random music boxes in your attic or basement, think twice before getting rid of them, because some music boxes are worth a lot. – Author: Cat Badra, Image via Audio Ink Radio

It makes sense that rare and classic vinyl records or even concert stubs can fetch a pretty penny at auction. But, the most valuable music boxes can also be worth a lot. So, if you have some random music boxes in your attic or basement, think twice before getting rid of them at a garage sale. Some of the most valuable music boxes of all time are still in circulation. Plus, if those music boxes came from family members from many years ago, that could add to their value.

Music Boxes That Are Worth a Lot

Music boxes are a special treasure from yesteryear. While musical boxes are still made today, they were really most popular decades and even centuries ago. “The music box, the first successful device that could play a musical tune, was probably invented in Switzerland around 1770,” the experts at Smithsonian Folkways Recordings note in a feature titled, “The Story of the Music Box.” In addition, more than “a century ago, more people owned music boxes than any other type of automatic musical instrument,” notes AMICA International.

Frankenmuth Clock adds that decades ago, “large bells were used to tell time and alarm people” and that those bells influenced “two German inventors to place small bells and tiny hammers into a watch to create the first automatic musical clock.” That design, they explain, led to the first home music box.

Mermod Frères Cylinder Music Box

Mermod Frères is known for offering valuable and exquisite music boxes. In particular, the Mermod Frères Cylinder Music Box has fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction. There’s at least one available now, actually, at M.S. Rau for $128,500. “A rare and beautiful antique station cylinder music box by Mermod Fréres of Switzerland,” they note in the listing. “The sublime harmony movement is encased in a beautiful inlaid burl walnut cabinet. An automaton butterfly and four maidens dance to the tune being played.” It’s a lovely piece that’s costly but could fit in a museum. It’s one of the most valuable music boxes of all time and might be at the very top of the tally.

Charles Bruguier Oiseau Chantant Singing Bird Box

The Charles Bruguier Oiseau Chantant Singing Bird Box is another rare treasure, and it has the piece tag to match it. One is posted at M.S. Rau for $72,500. “This early Swiss automaton singing bird box was crafted by the famed Charles Bruguier,” who was part of a famed family that made mechanical singing birds and musical boxes in the 1700s and 1800s. “The extraordinary box is crafted entirely from tortoiseshell.”

Tribute to Sydney Opera House 72 Note Mahogany Music Box “Butterfly” by Reuge

The Music Box Attic has a collection of valuable music boxes on their site, so if you see one that looks like something you have at home, it certainly worth looking into whether yours is just as valuable. The “Tribute to Sydney Opera House 72 Note Mahogany Music Box ‘Butterfly'” by Reuge runs $5,396.38. According to the item’s description, it takes about five months to craft a Reuge music automaton, and “unique expertise is indeed the secret of mechanical music.” They add that this box is “inspired by the beauty of the Sydney Opera House, this unique music box with its architectural design and functionality is the perfect gift for the opera and architecture afficionado.” It’s certainly one of the most valuable music boxes out there.

Even if you don’t have these specific music boxes at home, a good rule of thumb is that the older a music box is, the better the chance that it will actually be worth something. If it’s in good condition, even better. So, don’t toss that dusty music box just yet. You couldn’t find out it’s one of the most valuable music boxes in the world.

Cat Badra
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