What makes a Stradivarius violin so great?
Unlike our sorry collection of baseball cards, Stradivarius violins have a lot more than just sentimental value. In fact, one was recently auctioned for $3.5 million. Such a large sum begs the question — what makes Stradivarius violins so special? As far as we can tell, there are three main reasons. One, they’re rare. If our time in Economics 101 taught us anything, it’s that often, the rarer something is, the more valuable it becomes. According to several sources, there are less than 700 Stradivarius violins in existence today (considerably less than the number of baseball cards rotting in our basement). Two, they’re old. Each violin was constructed by Antonio Stradivari, whose work was commissioned by both England’s King James II and King Charles III of Spain. Stradivari, who unlike ma
