Nolan
Apr-28-2010, 11:04am
I got a call from a lady yesterday asking if I could help her find a mandolin for her son to play. She said she already had one mandolin that she inherited from her dad and she gave that to one of her sons but needed another mandolin for her other son to play now. I could tell she didn't know much about mandolins so I started at the beginning with the basics. She then said, "I wanted to get him a Gibson because that's what my Dad had but when I looked them up online they are REALLY expensive". Hmmm.....
Long story short is I found out her Dad bought this mandolin a long time ago... sometime between the late 20's and 40's. She said her son took it to a music store and they appraised it at $20,000 a year or so ago. I then told her about Ferns and Loars and told her to look for a signature inside that said Lloyd Loar. She said, "Well, there is a signature inside but I don't know what it says". I ended the conversation with , "Don't sell that mandolin... it may be worth a lot more than $20,000 and someone may have been trying to get a good deal".
So guys... of the old Gibsons, how many were signed? Were Fern's signed? Also.... $20,000 seems like an odd value for a vintage Gibson. I would think if it's a Fern or a Loar it would be at least $80,000 or if it's a F4 or something else it would be worth less than $10k. Any thoughts?
Long story short is I found out her Dad bought this mandolin a long time ago... sometime between the late 20's and 40's. She said her son took it to a music store and they appraised it at $20,000 a year or so ago. I then told her about Ferns and Loars and told her to look for a signature inside that said Lloyd Loar. She said, "Well, there is a signature inside but I don't know what it says". I ended the conversation with , "Don't sell that mandolin... it may be worth a lot more than $20,000 and someone may have been trying to get a good deal".
So guys... of the old Gibsons, how many were signed? Were Fern's signed? Also.... $20,000 seems like an odd value for a vintage Gibson. I would think if it's a Fern or a Loar it would be at least $80,000 or if it's a F4 or something else it would be worth less than $10k. Any thoughts?