Hi all,

I recently came across an auction on a swedish ebay-like site. The seller originally had a buy-it-now option set at 10.000 SEK (1522USD). Please see the link below:

http://translate.google....auktion_180701_142297356

Could someone explain why this loco is this valuable? Is it just very rare, or is there something more to it? I can recall seeing several of these on second hand sites on good/fair condition going for much less (500-1500 SEK). I have searched the forum, but not really found an answer, but bear with me if this has in fact been asked before.

/Oliver

Hi Oliver,

be very very careful before spending lots of money on a 3063, 3045 or 3052. These 3 rare models were derived from much less rare models, and are temptations for crooks. What you should look for in the case of the 3063 is a "bad paint job": the yellow stripes are not well painted, especially in the front, look at the pics posted above by igf2, this is a real 3063. If the stripes are too "crisp", beware!! I do not say that the loc you are referring to is a fake, but from the pics I see, I cannot really tell if it is genuine. You need more close-up pics. The 3063 decal on the box seems genuine, but again this does not prove anything for the loc itself (look for 3063 on ebay.de, there is an empty box for sale at 75 euros, with a "make offer" button.)

You might also want to read carefully this thread from not long ago:
https://www.marklin-user...o-sells-for-1247-12.aspx

By the way, thanks to Markus who wrote in that thread:


Good luck!

Cheers,
Ricky

Yah, we recently talked a little about this in the thread Ricky mentioned.There were a couple of other things that concerned me
1. It appeared that the seller spent some effort not to show the box art. It appears to be a box for the 3066 (Belgian Nohab).We have discussed the practice of Marklin using whatever box was to hand, but a knowledgable seller would point that out.When I bid on an expensive loco with a box, I want to see a good picture of the box, including the specific area of the sticker.
2. The silver authenticator tag is included, but not attached.Again, a warning.You can buy boxes and tags on Ebay.
3. The seller has very low feedback.This is apparently the first item he has sold. I would not bid on something that expensive, with a low feedback seller, unless there was a provision for escrow or some type of independent assessment.
4. If our colleague igf2's pictures are a reliable guide (and I have no reason to doubt)then I am concerned about the couplers and the roof color.

To the best of my knowledge, there has never been boxes specifically for 3063 (with a drawing of a 3063 on the cover), the 3066 box/drawing was used for 3066, 3067, 3068 and 3063. Likewise there was never a box for 3045 and 3046, the 3047 box was used. Likewise there was no box for the 3059, the 3038 box was used. Other examples may exist. One of the members here has a "Capitole" box as avatar, but that is a Photoshop edit, I believe.

If there is any member that has a real illustration for one of the locs listed above (not 3066, 3047 or 3038), I would be very interested in seeing a photo of that box cover.

What was used were number stickers that were affixed on top of the original box loc numbers, on both end sides of the box, like 3063 stickers masking the original 3066 numbers.

Cheers,
Ricky

I agree, although I do not see something wrong with the couplers, but again, hard to tell.



I got the same error, but I realized that the link provided by Oliver was the Google translation of the original site (in swedish.) Because not everybody on this forum speaks swedish, Oliver provided a translation in English (Thanks Oliver!) If you copy the original link from the Google bar into your browser address box, you can view larger images without getting the Google error page, or just click below:

http://www.tradera.com/3...auktion_180701_142297356

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Ricky

Another confirmation. I pulled out most of my Nohabs from storage this past weekend. All of the blue box Nohabs were in 3066 boxes, with stickers attached to indicate 3066, 3067,3068, etc.

Hi Michel,

I can only tell you what your locomotive is worth if you post detailed photos of it, taken from all sides, plus close-ups of the wheels, 2 photos of the box with the '3063' decals and the Serviceheft (if there is one). According to your description, it's a 3063.2 (or 3963), and in mint condition (i.e. never used!) it would be worth around 1,000 euros. You should also test the locomotive and open it to check if everything is original.

Collectors would pay more for the first version made from 1965-1967 if the light blue illustrated box and the instruction manual were included; the second version is rarer than the first, but collectors prefer locomotives from the 1960s in light blue boxes.

Probably your locomotive is used, so I need photos to tell you what it's worth. There are also fakes based on the 3066.2!

Best regards,
Mark

Hi Michel,

I've had a look at your photos. It seems to be an original 3063.2 from the 1970s and it's still in good condition though a bit used. Have you had a look inside? If it has been converted to digital, you can forget about the collector's value, but if it hasn't been tampered with, you should get at least 800 euros for the locomotive in case you want to sell it. The 3063 decal on the box looks original as well, in comparison with the boxes I have.

Best regards,

Mark

Hi,

The box of the 3063.2 (a.k.a. 3963) was a special case. To start with, that version was usually sold without a box between 1972 and 1976 as it was a so-called 'Teilesatz'. Usually those kit versions were shipped unmounted in unmarked brown boxes and often assembled by dealers, but customers (or dealers) could order a matching box from Märklin. During those years, that would have been a standardised dark blue 'photo' box like the one in Michel's photos, a.k.a. "Hippiekarton" (hippie box) among German Märklin fans. Those boxes were printed in several sizes, and usually featured stickers with the product number of the best-selling model in that category, which happened to be the 3054 in the case of the 26.5 cm box. That explains the seemingly 'wrong' number underneath the 3063 sticker. Märklin had a different styrofoam inset for each type of locomotive (e.g. 3067 for the Nohab/AFB diesel), so that was not a problem.

Another thing that needs to be said is that the 3063 sticker is different from the ones on other Märklin locomotives from the 1970s. Stickers printed since 1972 included an outline or silhouette of the locomotive, not just the number. I suppose that the number of boxes ordered for the 3963 must have been small, and unlike the 3067, 3066, or 3068, the 3063.2 was not in the Märklin catalogue in the 1970s, so the typical stickers were never printed for the 3063.2, though the other Nohab/AFB diesels got them in the 70s. A transparent 3063 sticker on top of a 3054 one is probably authentic; if it's not transparent at all, it's suspicious.

Best regards,
Mark

Hi Michel,

I sometimes sell things from my own collection on Ebay.de. Auctions that start at 1 euro work best for me, but I already have a good reputation as a private seller on Ebay, so I often get bids from guys who have bought stuff from me in the past few years. It's an uphill struggle if you're a newbie on Ebay and come up with a well-known collector's model. Some buyers won't trust you because you've never sold anything like this before. You can also try selling it on this forum. Just add some more photos and show people the inside of the locomotive. It's already attracted a certain amount of attention here, so you might find a buyer.

In general, it's not so difficult to sell a 3063 because there are a lot of collectors who would like to have one.

Best regards,
Mark

Hello All,

Please find some more pictures of a 3063 CFL loco that I received as a gift in the 70's and that I have now for sale.
It was then used by me for a few years and stored in the attic for nearly 3 decades. I used it again a few years ago when I played with my son (who didn't show much interest).

Please contact me for any question if you are interested in purchasing it.
Thanks,
Michel