Wooo! I feel your pain there gwem...
Not sure wot to say about the missus and "and my music will come to nothing" :lol: ... so I'll just ignore that and say I hope it all works out on that side of things... :D
But on the geetar... wow!
That is the V I'd want if I was going to have one. But it's way too steep for me for what would basically be a novelty guitar...
But is it really that steep for what it is? I thought the V's were like the Explorers - not a peep on them since their "failure" in 58/59, and then suddenly the re-issues in mahogany in 75... and those are the ones that our heroes of a certain age bought and used... so to find one in this condition, I'd have expected it to be even sillier money? (Or am I completely out of touch on this kind of thing? :lol:)
Knowing your history with Vs, I think you have to try this one (he's in London, isn't he?). If it's a dog, no problem. If it's not, then if you can get to a price that you think is fair, I think you have to fund it somehow and then sell on as many of the others as required to match it... be ruthless in what you cull... (and culling Vs might be more understandable to family etc) ... because, I think this might be your guitar :lol: