Ever find a Loar at a flea market?

[mad dawg]

An ongoing topic about finding a Gibson at a pawn shop inspired this question: do any of you have first-hand knowledge of an incredible mandolin find at a pawn shop, garage sale, flea market, or antique/collectible shop?

[John Rosett]

it's not a mandolin, but my guitar (1946 gibson southern jumbo) was found at a yard sale by a friend of mine about ten years ago for $100. it's pretty beat up, but it's the best sounding acoustic guitar i've ever played.
john

[neal]

I found a nice electric guitar at a rummage last week, Vantage, MIJ, for 20 bucks. End bid on ebay was 263.00. I feel like a bandit.

[Loren Bailey]

I obtained my mando (a Breedlove) by reselling a Dobro brand resonator uke. My Grandmother bought the uke at a garage sale for $2. She gave it to me and a year later I finally had some one appraise it. I sold it for $1000 and used the profit for my mando. My grandmother, who has one arm, gets tickled every time she thinks of that uke sitting in her closet.

LB

I heard of a loar being had at an estate auction for cheap money. Somewhere in the Northeast I believe it was

[sunburst]

The tough part here is "first hand knowledge".
Charles Johnson has a Loar that turned up in a pawn shop somewhere near Culpeper VA. That's second hand knowledge.

[fatt-dad]

My 1919 A3 White-face came from an old preacher's attic - it needed repair and we settled on $75.00. (I have since put over $500 into it.)

My Gibson L-00 (guitar) came from an estate that my father in law settled. It sat in his flea market in Florida and then ended up mine. I think he had $40 or $50 on it.

Somewhere there remains good deals to find. This is what drives MAS - ha.

f-d

[danman]

My guitar player found a 1951 Martin D28 at at yard sale. It was in 3 pieces. He paid $100.00 for it, had it repaired and it sounds fantastic. I found a fiddle made by John Selby of Toledo, Ohio. Dated 1916. I paid $70.00. It plays and sounds great.. It was appraised at 1500.00 this past year. Just luck and people not knowing what they own.

[Jim Garber]

Closest I ever came:

I was taking lessons from Roy Smeck (yes the one on all the Harmony instruments and the instrution books) back in the mid 1980s. One day Roy told me that a student of his had a mandolin that she might want to sell. He told me to bring the case from the next room. Old rectangular (uh oh I said). I opened it up and saw an F5 and then saw the Loar label.

At that point Roy said, what do you think it is worth -- a thousand? I shook my head. Two thousand? I told him to give me the seller's number. At that point I think Loars were about $10-12000. Of course, all the way home I was racking my brains trying to figure out how I could drain all my savings accounts etc. I realized that I didn't have much in that way, maybe $3000 or so. When I spoke to here she said that she wasn't really selling it but just seeing what it was worth and it belonged to her dad who inherited it from her grandfather who was the concertmaster of the Newark NJ Mandolin Orchestra. I think he bought it new. She knew it was a valuabel instrument since a number of folks over the years had hassled her dad about it.

Anyway, my brush with greatness...

[Jim Garber]

it's not a mandolin, but my guitar (1946 gibson southern jumbo) was found at a yard sale by a friend of mine about ten years ago for $100. it's pretty beat up, but it's the best sounding acoustic guitar i've ever played.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # john
Funny.... I also found my Southern Jumbo ca. 1950 at a flea market prob 15 years ago but I paid $325. it is still my favorite guitar.

Jim

[Hondo]

Not a mando, but I once paid 20 cents for a book that I later sold for $800. Wish I had a few more of those to finance my next mando...

[JD Cowles]

when i was in college i saw an old f mando at a yard sale. at that time i played a little guitar and knew nothing about mandolins. it was $60, and that was a lot of money then, so after much (not enough) thought, i left it there. i'll never know what it was http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

Years ago I went to a yard sale and saw a little hardshell case. It was a 1920's Martin uke, didn't really have a need for a uke or didn't really know much about them, but for $35.00 I decieded to buy it. On my way to pay the guy I saw another Martin uke...koa wood I might add, for $25.00 with #case. I picked that one up as well. The guy said oh you want both, how about $50.00 for the pair. Years later I relized the true value of these little boogers. That was a good day.

[Staramouche]

My folks go "saleing" every Saturday in Florida and scooped up a mando for $35, no case and really old strings. A little research proved it to be a 90+ year old Vega cylinder-back. The fret bars needed sanding and I got her a new bridge (and strings) and now she sings so nice! I've told my folks to keep their Saturday ritual and call me with any more musical finds!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Joe

[Blind_Cowboy]

The only things I ever found was a trumpet case for $2 that now houses my harmonicas. A briefcase for $1 that now houses my pedals (guitar), a 8' industrial shelf unit that I dug out of the trash that now houses my studio equipment, a Bose passive sub woofer (trash) that had a bad connection, 2-19" monitors (trash) that had (A. bad connecter-B. blown capacitor on the power circuit) that allowed me to have a dual monitor studio, a 1950's Hohner Marine Band Harp that I won on E-Bay for $2, and a couple of other odds and ends that have been salvaged.

I'm always amazed at what people will throw away. I just keep waiting for that one moment when i'll see a guitar neck sticking out of the trash can and find that the owner threw away that old Gibson because the strings were all old and broke.

[Bob A]

I've bought books from yardsales for a buck that were worth 1-200. Got a Greek baglama off ebay for 66.00; it's worth several hundred. A Gibson LG2 from 1950 for 100+100 in repairs - still ugly, but a wonderful instrument.

On the other end of the scale, got maybe the world's cleanest A2Z for 1750. A Martin 018K (Spanish) with the loveliest flamed koa I've ever seen for 1200, years ago. Both from dealers. Time alone has increased their values two- to four-fold. And too many others that are just holding their own, but I get to play them all I want.

A Loar-signed L5 walked into a guitar shop hereabouts, and the little old lady walked out with several hunderd bucks; the dealer still has it in his collection. In Rochester a Loar F5 walked into a local music store, was referred to a local vintage dealer; everyone walked away with wads of cash in their pockets, except the lucky soul who got to walk with the Loar. (Had to walk; couldn't afford the gas any more).

So what's a bargain? The Loar I saw at a guitar show for 25 grand eight or ten years ago? I didn't think so at the time.

[Darryl Wolfe]

I've had far better luck with electrics..for some reason the nice mandos have never turned up for me. #I did trade a guy a new Kentucky KM1500 for a '61 Gretsch White Falcon and a 1915 A mando. #I did buy a '63 Jazz bass for 300 in a pawn shop..and I did buy a '61 Strat for $200 out of the newspaper..and a 62 Precision bass for $200 out of the paper. But, when it came down to buying Loars...I've had to pay $6000 for my first one, $7500, $9000 and finally $7800 for the one I have now. Ah shucks

[Tom C]

I was in Mandolin Bros when a man walked in with 2 instruments. A martin Uke and a Gibson Banjo. He had just bought a house and he said he had 3 ukes and 3 banjos (all the same) that he found in the attic. I'd say that's a nice present after shelling out all that $ for a home.

[Fred_Murtz]

My mom called me a few years back saying she had found, "this little guitar at an estate sale and since it said GIBSON on it and it was only $5" she bought it. I drove over to her house very fast to find a 1955 Gibson BR9 lap steel in mint condition in the original case.

A co-worker who lived in south Texas said one year everyone in his little town had to converge at a small farm to get well water after a hurricane had messed up their local water supply. He and the farmer got to talking and the farmer told him he had a guitar "out in the barn" that he'd sell for $75. My friend initially thought it must be a peice of junk, but went back a couple weeks later and came home with a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top for $75!!!!!

A teacher of a computer class I took recently said her husband played in bands around Tennessee and Kentucky. While in a small town in Kentucky he was conversing with the locals about any pawn shops that had instruments. One good ol' boy said he had a guitar he wasn't using. He said he was tired and going home to sleep, but he gave this guy directions to his house, said he'd put the guitar out on the woodstack, and if he liked it, just leave a check for $100 under the door. The guitar player pulls up later that night to find a mint condition 1963 Fender Telecaster in the original case sitting on the woodstack. He slipped the $100 under the door and sped home.

[straight-a]

Back in the early sixties, my dad was playing music and when he was loading up to leave, he found a J-45 Gibson in his back seat. He and my uncle went around trying to find the owner but no one claimed it. I still have it, in fact, I learned to play on it. It's an early forties model.

[johnwilson]

Living in New Mexico a while back a friend salvaged 000-28 in near mint shape from a pawn shop for $70. I gladly paid him $700. I do wonder where it had been since 1934!

[f5joe]

I have a Loar under my bed. I look at it occasionally. It's a beautiful picture. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[KenR]

I brought a collectible shotgun to an auctioneer acquaintance who was interested in buying it. He was preparing for an auction in his barn at the time. Across the room I saw a mandolin case with a "bump" sitting on a desk. I flew across the room and found a 1922 Gibson F4. Sold the gun and bought the F4 for $1800. Also found a 1914 Gibson L-1 at a flea market. Might as well mention the Pollman banjo mandoline in mint condition at an antique show. Off subject but still interesting is the antique fishing reel I bought at a flea market for $150 and later sold for $5000. Only in America. By the way, had to sell most of the above to buy my new Gilchrist! - Ken

[Rroyd]

I picked up a 1934 PB 3 flathead b***jo some years back from the original owner, who wanted $110 and a ride to the local bar for payment. The neck had broken off at the heel, and had been reattached with two giant screws, right down through the fingerboard. Since I wanted to convert it to an RB, the neck was no big deal. I guess that was my good buy.

[sbarnes]

might as well chime in w/my bargain story.....although not mando:
bought a late 50's/early 60's (still don't know for sure - gotta check that serial #) gibson hummingbird w/hardshell case for $50 - out of the newspaper want ads.....
almost didn't call but did and asked is this a real gibson or some knock off - the owner said well i don't know nothing 'bout gui-tars but it says gibson on it....
last $50 i had but i've still got it too.....

[Jim Garber]

Well... so far, no Loars in any of these stories...

I guess the way it all works for me is that, yes, I get the bargains at times because I am [I]always[/I looking. On the other hand, I have also paid full price, retail even for those instruments I lusted after and had to have there and then. Of course, after a few years even that high price seemed to be a bargain. Hey, you can't really lose, sort of...

Jim

[rhetoric]

I bought a small, beautifully ornate, chestnut, fully operational pump organ at an auction tonite for 10 American dollars! Cool!

[CF5]

I have a couple of "finds" that I've been the lucky one on. I found a 1941 Gibson F5 in a pawn
shop just after I got interested in the mandolin. The way the guy in the shop jumped at my
offer of $600.oo I was kicking myself for not offering less,and although it's not a Loar I'm not
complaining. It's an incredibly wonderful sounding and playing mandolin and I've had it up against some of the finest around.
The other one I found as a wall hanging in someone's home. It's a fine 1916 Gibson F4. She'd got it at a garage sale years earlier for $1.00 . It had been in her kid's toy box for years and although it was a little marked up, with a little work from my neighbourhood luthier, it's turned into a wonderful player and a thing of beauty. She knew it wasn't junk, but nobody played, and that's the way it stayed until I gave her $250.00 and an old bowl back that I had kicking around for it.
I figure I've used up pretty much all the mando luck one person is allowed in this life. I have quite a few other mandos as well, but these all came to me by the normal means ($$$$$$$) The F5 is far and away my favorite and the one I mainly use.

[mandoJeremy]

I recently purchased a 92 American Strat for $85.00 from a thrift store and sold it on Ebay for $560.00. Also helped a lady sell her 1932 L-00 that she had bought in a thrift store last year for $25.00 with the original case. It was in mint condition! I sold it for her to a friend for $1,000.00 and he sold it for $1,700.00. I also got a $100.00 finders fee just for walking up the street. I really wanted the guitar but the poor musician's disease had settled in.

[Rroyd]

Well, there is the one Loar acquision that took place after a Hammond organ sales rep commented to a Northwest music store manager who was polishing the finish on a new guitar before putting it on display that he had a "funny looking little instrument" at home in his closet that had a finish just like that of the new guitar. #It had belonged to his mother-in-law, and he didn't know anything about it. #They decided that it was some sort of F-style mandolin from his description, and the store manager mentioned Lloyd Loar's name because of his interest in L5 guitars.
In a few days the manager received a call from the sales rep, who had remembered their conversation and had looked at the instrument in his closet after returning to his Bay Area home, and saw the signed label with the aforementioned name. #He had it appraised, and was told that it was worth $800-$1000, as at the time a new one was $695. #He ended up selling it several months later for the lesser amount to an aquaintance of the music store manager, who had an F4 on approval that a hobbyist had less than perfectly converted to an F5. # When the store manager saw the conversion, he said it was an OK instrument, but that he knew where there was a better one that might be available. # Turned out that he was right on both counts. #When the sales rep met the buyer, he commented that his mother-in-law had owned a matched pair, and that the other one was with another family member in Ohio. #The instrument was in mint original condition, and #the original hanging price tag was still in the case. #The purchaser regretted in later years that he had not tried to arrange to purchase the other instrument, or at least made an attempt to find out just what and where the other one was. #But then there's that 20/20 hindsight. #Anyway, not a real bargain at the time, but then there has been that appreciation over the years.

[levin4now]

This topic has been bandied about before and someone described their experience doing some work (carpentry? electric? plumbing? in a guy's house. They discussed music and the homeowner offered him his old Gibson A real cheap.

Nothing like hearing a second hand story told vaguely is there? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[John Rosett]

when i lived in olympia, wa in the 80's, i really plundered this one pawn shop. in one year, i bought a 50's danelectro guitar ($10), a 60's fender mustang bass ($25), and a '63 epiphone rivera ($100). that same year, i bought a 1932 dobro for $80 at a yard sale.
on the downside, i bought an old fiddle at a junk store for $5. there were two bows in the case. i traded one to a friend for a set of mando strings and ten bucks. he took it to a violin shop in seattle where they gave him $2500 for it.
john

[Darryl Wolfe]

It's pretty hard to top Tut Taylor's story about the Griffith A5 and F5. Long story, but essentially he got the 2 Loar instruments and all kinds of old Gibson catalogs and pictures from the decendants of Wm Griffith's Atlanta School of Music. These finds used to be fairly easy by tracking down the whereabouts of people depicted in the old Gibson catalogs

[mandowannabe]

About 9 years ago I was visiting my brother in Atlanta and I told him I was looking for a mandolin. #He asked me what they looked like and I described the two basic shapes and promptly forgot about it thinking he would never recognize a good one if he saw it. #A few days after returning to Arkansas where I live, I recieved a call from my brother and he said, "I found you a mandolin." #I asked what kind and he said "its got The Gibson written on it." #The hear on my neck stood up and I asked about the shape. #He described an A model shape and told me the condition. #To make a long story short, It wsas a 23 "snake head" Gibson that he had bought at an estate sale for $175.00. #He shipped it to me the next week and I have treasured it since. #It is just as sweet as everyone says. #What a brother to pass up making a killing on the find. #G.B.

[Rroyd]

Hopefully the newer edited version won't seem so vague. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif