Just did a "completed listings" search on eBay... super wide range.

Lots of no-sells for $900 to $1400 (!).

A few "special" ones (rare pearl or COB) sold for $600.

A nice RB Champagne went for $400.

Here's a WMP:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Gretsch-5X14-White-Pearl-4157-RB-Snare-Drum_W0QQitemZ300337733200QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintgae_Drums_Percussion?hash=item45ed861e50&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_500wt_924 In that ad it says 5x14 but I suspect it's a 5 1/2" x 14.

A few lucky people got RB snares for $200 (if I was needing one I would try to be one of them).

Any under $200 seemed to be 6 lugs or something else undesirable to most.

About 3000 Catalinas from Musician's Friend didn't sell.

Of course Craigslist may be cheaper... or higher and there's always getting one in somebody's garage for peanuts because the head is broken.

It's not necessarily weird that the snare doesn't have a Gretsch label on the interior. The general consensus seems to be that Gretsch didn't start using interior tags until the early 60s, and they were making Name Band kits well before that. I've got a 50s Name Band set with no interior tags.

THANKS for the feedback to date! I appreciate your time and the information provided.

I've found out a few more characteristics of the particular drum that I'm considering:

- Along with the Micro-Sensitive strainer its got the one-point snare butt; and

- Although there's no label on the interior of the shell, the shell is painted grey

Would this information help narrow the possible years of production for this one? I never understood why some Name Band snares came with the one-point butt, while others came with the four-point. Did the year (or years) of manufacture determine that issue? Did one configuration replace the other? If so, which came first?

You're describing my snare exactly! Silver interiors, no tags, one-point butt.

From what I understand, they started doing the silver interiors around 57 or so, and didn't start using tags until 62 or 63. So that should narrow down the age for you. I don't know much about the butt issue.

Does the snare feature die-cast rims, or are they stick-choppers? Stick-choppers mean an older drum.

Enjoy!

section2:

THANKS AGAIN for your input. The current owner claims that the rims are stick-choppers. If you'd like, PM me with your email address and I can send some pics.

My pleasure!

You can also check out http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/gretsch.html for more details. There's some good info there on the timing of different developments in the Gretsch line (e.g. when they started using silver interiors, etc.).