This 1957 Fender P-Bass is a very nice playing, resonant and light weight bass. The body still has the original pencil date of 1-57 in the pickup cavity The original owner thought it would look great to refinish the body and neck black back in the day. The bass still sports the original body, maple neck, tuners, pickguard, control plate with original pots and capacitor, neck plate, bridge and thumb rest. The pickup is a Seymour Duncan Antiquity 50's P-Bass. The neck feels great and sounds wonderful acoustically and plugged in.

Serial# 14700

Weight 8lbs. 5oz.

Features:

• Refinished Black
• Original Body Dated 1-57
• Original Maple Neck Refinished Black
• Original Tuners
• Original White Pickguard
• Original Control Plate, Pots and Capacitor
• Original Adjustable Fender Bridge
• Duncan Antiquity 50's P Bass Pickup

Includes:

• Non Original Hard Shell Case
• The serial number 14700

AI value assessment is described below:

For Fender Precision Basses, neck plate serial numbers in the 14,000 range are consistent with 1957 production, and they line up well with the 1-57 pencil date you mentioned in the pickup cavity.

What this means

With:

• ✅ Body pencil dated 1-57
• ✅ Neck plate serial number 14700
• ✅ Original maple neck
• ✅ Original reverse tuners
• ✅ Original gold anodized pickguard
• ✅ Original bridge
• ✅ Original control plate with original pots and capacitor
• ✅ Original thumb rest
• ❌ Body refinished black
• ❌ Neck refinished black
• ❌ Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickup replacing the original pickup

I have very little doubt that this is a genuine early-1957 Precision Bass.

Revised Value Estimate

The serial number strengthens the authenticity and makes the bass more attractive to buyers.

Dealer Offer

• $14,000–$17,000

Private Sale

• $18,000–$22,000

High-End Vintage Dealer Consignment

• $20,000–$24,000

The Wild Card: Original Pot Codes

If the potentiometers are dated late 1956 or early 1957 (for example, Stackpole codes such as 304-6XX or CTS codes 137-6XX/137-7XX), that would further support originality and help justify the higher end of the range.

Insurance Value

If you plan to keep it, I would insure it for approximately:

$25,000–$28,000

because replacing a genuine 1957 Precision with this level of originality has become increasingly difficult.

Should You Sell It?

If you don't need the money immediately, I would not rush to sell it. Vintage 1950s Fender basses have generally appreciated over the long term, and a mostly original 1957 Precision Bass is becoming harder to find every year.