Legendary Vintage 1929 King Liberty 1 Silvertone "Artist Bore" Trumpet .468 – First Year Model! Valve Rebuild by Mark Metzler. Rare as Leprechaun Gold

A spectacular, collector-grade piece of American brass history:

The 1929 King Liberty Silvertone Artist Bore trumpet, #122058

featuring a professional, top-tier valve rebuild and refit completed 9/5/2026 by legendary master craftsman Mark Metzler.

🎺 The History: First-Year 1929 "Silvertone" Manufactured in 1929 by the famous H.N. White company in Cleveland, Ohio, this horn represents the pinnacle of Roaring Twenties American craftsmanship.

May 1929 was the exact introduction date for this premium model, making this a highly collectible first-year production piece.The Silvertone model is legendary for its Solid Sterling Silver Bell. Unlike standard brass bells, King’s sterling bells were engineered with a thicker core that delivers a dense, rich tonal center combined with an incredible acoustic brilliance and laser-focused projection when pushed.

Pre-war sterling bells are widely considered by collectors to have a purity of sound that later era horns rarely match. I wholeheartedly agree.

Famous King Liberty Trumpet Players

• Harry James
  Won a Texas state championship at age 15 playing a King Liberty and used it to launch his legendary big band career.
• Ziggy Elman
  The powerhouse lead trumpeter for the Benny Goodman Orchestra who had a custom miniature Liberty model built for him by H.N. White.
• Henry "Red" Allen
  A highly influential early jazz and swing soloist known for his fiery, innovative playing style.
• Buck Clayton
  Renowned for his smooth, lyrical solos and exceptional section leadership within the Count Basie Orchestra.
• Charlie Shavers
  A technical virtuoso of the swing era who played with the John Kirby Sextet and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
• Bunk Johnson (my personal favorite)
  An early New Orleans jazz pioneer who helped shape the traditional jazz revival using early King horns.
• King Oliver
  A founding father of jazz and mentor to Louis Armstrong who relied on early 1920s H.N. White instruments.

🎯 Rare "Artist" Bore

While most 1920s Liberty models found today are the tighter Small (.438) or Medium (.448) bores, this specific horn is the highly coveted, rare Artist Bore (Large Bore .468). Introduced as a top-of-the-line option for symphony players, the Artist bore opens up the horn significantly. Offering a free-blowing experience and a massive sound profile with a unique, punchy brilliance.

🛠️ World-Class Valve Rebuild by Mark Metzler

Vintage 1920s Kings are magnificent, but finding one today with good valve compression is incredibly difficult.

This horn has completely bypassed that issue. It was recently sent to Mark Metzler (Metzler Brass), widely regarded as one of the absolute best vintage restoration and valve technicians in the country. Mark performed a complete professional valve rebuild and refit, restoring the compression to better than factory-new tolerances. The action is lightning-fast, smooth, and the horn seals perfectly. You are getting the unmistakable vintage character of a 1929 King, but with the flawless mechanical playability of a brand-new boutique horn.

Vintage, Almost Antique horn but looks great for its age. Has some polishing wear and a tiny dent or two hard to photograph but the bell looks to have been gold washed at some point.

Would be great for a serious collector, museum, or lover of 20's-30's music

Comes with King case and Bach Corp 7c but these horns play best with Equa-Tru mouthpieces because of a unique taper.