Help with value of Martin bent-top mandola

[acousticphd]

A friend of mine is being commissioned to try to sell a Martin bent-top mandola.
I can find exceedingly little information (basically none) indicating what these might be worth currently. I find one archived page from Elderly, and one years-old sale ad elswhere.

Info online suggests that only a dozen or so per year were built over a period of years, and only ~250 total were ever made.

Unfortunately I don't have the S/N#, but here is what I observed or guess about it:
Very well-played, worn cosmetically, but sound condition
Good neck condition, with flat fingerboard & very good playability
Tuning gears above the cogs, so made later than mid-20s.
Pickguard is inset into the top (ie, surface is flush with the top)
Just from its appearance I would hazard an age of late 1920s-1940s.

Can anyone give an opinion on the approx. value ?

Thanks!

[lenf12]

I didn't know Martin made any mandolas so a picture (or several) would be most welcome. Thanks in advance!!

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[mrmando]

Check with Gryphon Strings. Saw one there once.

[raulb]

The last I heard, a real good one, like the one in my avatar, is worth about $500. They do not appreciate in value very well (I paid about $200 for mine 30 years ago).

[brunello97]

$500 will hardly get you a Martin mandolin these days, let alone a mandola. Here's a picture of one I have in my files, though unfortunately there isn't anything there for scalar purposes.

Mick

[allenhopkins]

Per Longworth's Martin Guitars: A History, Martin made flat-back, canted-top mandolas from 1915 through 1941. Production totals were about 154 for Style A/AA (mahogany back and sides), 46 for Style B/BB (rosewood).

Only price quote I can Google is $1895 here (http://vintagemandolin.net/vintage-1919-martin-mandola-mandolin-guitar-clean-plays-sounds-great-exrare-2/9764) for a Style AA. Seems really high, given that comparable vintage Style A mandolins are available for half that, or a bit less; I paid $799 for my 1919 Style A, with (non-original) hardshell case. But Martin mandolas are quite scarce, and scarcity adds market value. I'd ask at least $1K, if condition is excellent, but realizing that it may take a while to find a buyer.

[Paul Hostetter]

A friend of mine is being commissioned to try to sell a Martin bent-top mandola.
I can find exceedingly little information (basically none) indicating what these might be worth currently...Info online suggests that only a dozen or so per year were built over a period of years, and only ~250 total were ever made.

I hope you've checked the Richard Johnston/Dick Boak books.


Unfortunately I don't have the S/N#, but here is what I observed or guess about it:
Very well-played, worn cosmetically, but sound condition
Good neck condition, with flat fingerboard & very good playability
Tuning gears above the cogs, so made later than mid-20s.

How are we to know if they're original? Or that this mandola is either flatbacked or roundback? Martin made both, with inlaid pickguards.


Pickguard is inset into the top (ie, surface is flush with the top)Just from its appearance I would hazard an age of late 1920s-1940s.

We need photos and/or a lot more info. The guy with the red bowtie is playing a Martin roundback mandola:

http://www.lutherie.net/aurora.med.1937.jpg