vintage Gretsch Electromatic seen today...

[sneakypete]

saw a very cool old Gretsch Electromatic today, pencil numbers inside are 7781...there are some blue stamped numbers in there but I can`t make them out...looks like 77 something...perhaps somebody wrote them with a pencil since the stamped numbers didn`t come out dark enough...seems to date to 1952/53 from what I`ve read on a web site...which leads to my question...did a search but didn`t see any real good web sites, the shop wants about $800.oo US for it...no original case...but real nice condition...flame maple back and sides, looks like spruce top...good price?
Frets appear to be brass and show very little wear...refret maybe in the past. Neck is straight and no major damage can be seen...however...if the price sounds ballpark I`ll go back and give it some gentle taps around the back and top to listen for loose bracing as well as play it. So theres no label either, and no evidence of one...normal? Headstock and tuners show their age and the neck and headstock inlays look fine. Any help is appreciated.

[sneakypete]

correction...Syncromatic, no pick-ups.

[Spud1950]

Had to do a lot of searching,but I found two vintage ones for sale. Judging by these, $800 seems like a very good price,however if the frets are indeed brass ,not nickel, that would not be very desirable. I would add on the price of a proper re fret to the $800 as the final cost. The originals certainly had nickel frets. I would examine them very carefully.Perhaps they're just discolored from age.Here's what I found.

$1275.00 -

$1295.00 -

Edit- There were a few different models. Here's some details.

[sneakypete]

thanks for the link, I`m going to see if I can take some pics today...I`ve never owned a Gretsch nor really had an interest in their electrics but this one spoke to me...and I haven`t even played it yet. Will report back later.