Ibanez help

[TNT]

A freind of mine has a older F style Ibanez he was curious to what year it was and an approximate value. the serial # is 768009 He thinks he bought it about 1975, but can't remember.. Any and All help would be greatly appreciated..

[blueron]

The Ibanez Mandolin (http://ibanezmandolin.com/serial-numbers/) website is likely where you'll find out what you need to know. It is seemingly not a factory-owned site, but one run by Ibanez enthusiasts. When I had a question for them recently, the kind people who ran the site responded quickly to my email.

br

Edited/added later:

A bit more browsing of that site found an instrument that could be a contemporary of your friend's, since it has the previous serial number, #768008 (http://ibanezmandolin.com/serial-numbers/I768008/). No information on the actual year on that instrument, though.

[Bob Gray]

I have an old Ibanez mandolin that I bought new in 1978. It has the serial number G768045. It was my first F-5 mandolin. As I recall I think it retailed for about $535 at the time. It looks very similar to the picture in the above post with the block inlays. Mine has a nicer back with some actually halfway decent birdseye maple figure. Fortunately the binding has held up OK, although there is a separation between the back and ribs about 2 inches long behind the tailpiece that developed shortly after I bought it, apparently due to shrinkage of the back. I sent it to Ibanez for warranty repair and they had some repair guy in Ohio reglue it, but it soon redeveloped. It has been stable for decades though. I had it recently appraised by a local instrument dealer and he said it was worth $500. I hang on to it for sentimental value, but haven't really played it in nearly 30 years.