When is a guitar vintage?

[petevee]

Today I was internet shopping guitars--my wife calls it "guitar Porn"--and something came up that has been eating at me a bit.  I saw a 22 year old Larrivee advertised as "vintage."  I saw a  year old Martin advertised as vintage.  I know vintage is not the same as antique but it raises these 2 questions in my mind: 1) When is a guitar "vintage?" 2)When is a guitar an "antique?"   I think vintage must be one of those Alice in Wonderland terms that means whatever the speaker wants it to mean.

I would call a twenty plus year old guitar vintage. Also you should keep in mind that vintage can be used in many ways..

[carruth]

Any guitar older than me!

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

It's vintage if a seller says it is 

[kenhewitt]

Copied from the Martin catalog...Vintage for a newer Martin is considered a guitar in this series, in my humble opinion...



"Our VINTAGE SERIES instruments combine the look
and feel of classic, pre-World War II Martins with modern
improvements and materials. The result: instruments of
extraordinary elegance, power and playability.
Such vintage features as grained ivoroid binding, herringbone
trim, old-style squared headstock, scalloped forward-shifted
Dreadnought "X" bracing, modified V-shaped neck,
period fingerboard inlays, old-style long or through
saddles, aging toner finish and vintage-style tuning
machines are used extensively. Necks are hand fit using
a wood-to-wood dovetail attachment for best tone.
Guitars are constructed of solid premium woods,
including East Indian rosewood, genuine mahogany,
select quarter-sawn Sitka spruce and ebony.
While these instruments are built on original patterns from
the '30s, they benefit from over a half a century of continual
advances in guitar design and construction. All feature
Martin's adjustable truss rod and modified V-shape neck.
Vintage Series guitars include vintage Geib style cases."

[kenhewitt]

It's vintage if a seller says it is 

Or if the buyer believes it is...

[Danny]

Or if the buyer believes it is...

That 69 BZ Martin qualifies.

[cke]

Or if the buyer believes it is...

  This is certainly where the hype meets the checkbook.  Ken