David,
 
I don't have an answer for you regarding the authenticity/value/market
for your friend's violin, but there is, coincidentally, a story in the UCLA
newsletter, UCLA Today, on the same subject, sort of.  An actual Stradivarius
violin from the UCLA Music Dept collection was lost/stolen 27 years ago, and
it has recently resurfaced.  It is the Duke of Alcantara Stradivarius,
made especially for the Duke by Antonio Stradivari.  The violin was lost
while in the possession of David Margetts, the second-chair violinist in
UCLA's Feri Roth String Quartet at the time.  (The violin was on loan to the
quartet, and later one-fifth ownership was given.  When the violin turned up,
UCLA reimbursed the insurance company that had paid the owner when the violin
was lost, and UCLA received title to the violin.) It resurfaced several times
over the years, but UCLA could never quite get it's hands back on it.
 
At this point in time, it is worth approximately $800,000, and is the subject
of a divorce custody battle, as well as the efforts of the University's
considerable resources.  Right now, by court order, it is in the possession
of the University's Fowler Museum of Cultural History, but they are unable to
display, play or really even touch it until its ownership is proven.  Title
is held by the University, but the woman who "owns" it claims to have
received it as a gift from her aunt, who claimed to have found it on a
freeway on-ramp.
 
Incidentally, it resurfaced when a music teacher mentioned to a violin
restorer in Petaluma, CA, that one of his students owned a Stradivarius, so I
guess the answer to the question "Do Stradivarius violins normally come to
light in a hillbilly shack in Kentucky?" could be yes.
 
I would suggest that you get in touch with the Fowler Museum.  I don't know
whether they would be the ones who could help you, but they could certainly
put you in touch with someone who can.  I don't think they are on-line, but
the phone number for the main office is (310) 825-4361.
 
Hope this helps!
Erin McIntire
UCLA Extension, Visual Arts
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