1963 Sears Silvertone model 1449 amp in case rare Danelectro

Description

I’m whittling down my guitar collection as I get closer to retirement age, hoping to get down to two or three by then.
This is the rarer (and cooler) black Sears Silvertone model 1449 two-lipstick-tube-pickup electric, which was manufactured for only about six months in 1963 before it was replaced with the red model 1457.
It includes the larger of the two amps in cases that Sears sold, a 5-watt version with an 8-inch Jensen speaker, two inputs, tremelo and a foot switch. Yeah, it’s only 5 watts, but don’t kid yourself, this thing is louder than you think.
I purchased this guitar at Stein’s Pawn Shop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the early 1980s (the year escapes me, but I know it was no later than 1982 because I left town the next year).
The guitar sounds great. If I had to describe it, “dirty” would be the word I would choose. People who’ve heard these I’m sure know what I’m talking about. It’s great for playing blues. You can find some videos of them on YouTube if you’ve never heard them.
The guitar’s in great condition for its age though the pots could definitely stand to be cleaned. There’s some occasional crackling and cutting in and out when fiddling with the controls that I’m sure would be remedied with a good cleaning. The fretboards on these guitars are more flat than curved, but you’ll have no trouble barring chords on it. The neck itself is straight, with little if any bowing.
There are a few minor chips on the finish, the most prominent being on the top edge of the body as pointed out in one of the photos, but all are barely noticeable on the black sparkly finish. The white binding around the sides is still intact.
The case has had its share of bangs and bumps and has about a 2-inch slice on the front lower left as shown in a photo. Some of the edges have taken a beating, but I’d rate the case overall no worse than 7 out of 10.
One of the tube sockets had a short for the longest time, but I had Milwaukee’s premiere amp tech fix that a few years back and now it works fine. Volume, tone, strength and speed of tremelo are all as they should be.
I’ve never played this guitar outside the house. I might take it out of the case once a year to noodle around on it for an hour or two, but that’s about it.
Oh yeah, one last thing. I’ve always wound the strings in reverse on this thing because I didn’t like the way they butted up against the adjacent tuning pegs when wound the right way. But after I took the pix, I realized it had been a long time since I changed the strings, so I replaced them with a new set of Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys and wound them the right way.
I really hate to part with this guitar despite how seldom I play it, but I’ve had it for 40 years and it’s time to let someone else enjoy it.
I’ll send this UPS insured. Shipping only in the continental United States.
Bid with confidence, I have a 100% feedback rating and would like to keep it that way.