Caren, this Radio king is actually older than 1947 it's a late 30's early 40's model it's a 7x14". It looks like it's been refinished sometime down the line. you would need to post interior pics also to determine a value ok?

Nice drum! Other the being refinished, everything looks good and original to me.

I'd not take less than $650 or so for it, perhaps a bit more.

Yes thank you, I do see that it is a little older. I added a view of the inside as well. How to know for sure whether it is refinished or not.?. don't know that there is a way. Just know that the finish and the entire drum is in beautiful shape and that this is a very collectible item. Any other thoughts on value are appreciated!

Hello Caren;

As vintagemore said, late 30s - early 40s and definitely refinished. In the picture of the badge you can see the grommet is bent on the left, inside. If you take off one of the heads to get good pictures of the inside, (and look for stamps), I am sure that that grommet has damage on the back from removal.

Obviously someone has cared for that drum and spent some time on it, and they did a very nice job, but the refinish unfortunately bumps your drum into the "beautiful player" category and out of the "pristine collector" category. Pictures of the back of the grommet from inside, the scarf joint on the inside and a shot of the bearing edges looking down on the scarf joint from top and bottom, as well as shots of any ink stamps or pencil marks on the interior will help put this to bed. Another thing you can look at, if you set a head on top of the shell and there is a little play in it side to side, the shell may have originally been wrapped. Most RKs of that era have trouble with a lot of modern heads fitting properly. A shell that was wrapped and has been stripped will have a very slightly smaller diameter than a shell that left the factory unwrapped due to construction techniques. There most certainly ARE ways to tell if it has been refinished.

Ebay completed sales of similar examples will give you a good feel for the market. Let us know what you find if you dig any deeper.

The reason I say it's

been refinished is due to a real lacquer finish from this era would without doubt have checking and crazing due to age, environment, etc. I would at least try for $800.00.

Really nice drum you have there. Does not get much better for vintage Slingerland! That said the drum does have some things that stand out a bit to me. First the lugs are the later version of the small "super lugs" 48-54 according to Mark Cooper's site. Later lugs like on your drum have a small lip at the top of the lug. The badge grommet looks like it may have been changed. Perhaps when the drum was refinished these things were changed. Original lugs might have been badly pitted or cracked. And the badge simply removed when the shell was refinished. Other than these few things it's a beauty! Here's a link to Mr Coopers wonderful site. Scroll down a bit and you'll see the 2 lugs I speak of. http://www.coopersvintagedrums.com/slingerlandlugs.htm