Any info on this mandolin would be appreciated such as age, value, etc. Number stamped inside is 0100h35
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Any info on this mandolin would be appreciated such as age, value, etc. Number stamped inside is 0100h35
Post some photos! Is it like this one on Reverb? Harmony "Batwing" Electric mandolin?
There should also be a stamp inside that says MADE IN USA F69 (or S65, etc.). That's the year of manufacture. F is first half of the year, S is second half.
But yeah, we can't tell you anything meaningful about value without photos of the instrument (and its case, if there is one).
Not sure how to post photos on this site. It is very similar to the one on reverb. No other stamps other than 0100h35. It does have a hard case.
Try this thread to explain a few ways to post images.
I am using an android tablet and i see no options to post a photo.
Let me try... Well, it's not a mandolin. Oh well!
.Attachment 197859
Ok I think I have it now, thanksAttachment 197861
Well, that's gonna need some attention from a luthier with the patience to shove all the electronics through that little hole and put them back in place, assuming that the pots, knobs, jack, and harness are present and functioning. Reassembly and setup may run up to a couple hundred bucks.
It is hard to assess value in that condition. The parts I can see in the photo do appear to be original, as does the case. It doesn't have a truss rod or logo pickguard, but does look like a USA-built model from between 1965 and 1973. Any cracks? Loose binding? Player wear on the neck? More photos could help.
And….?
There’a another thread under the same title where he couldn’t figure out how to post images.
As mentioned already, you need to get the instrument playing with all the electrickery working but it is a popular electric mandolin and you can search Reverb for prices although that site tends to be a bit steep in terms of the asking price. If the case is hard as opposed to one of those chipboard items, that has a decent value as well, so putting them both together once the instrument is okay, then you should have a very saleable combination.
I merged the threads.
I put the mandolin back together and took more pics. Do you suppose the 0100h35 number means it was the 100th one made? I have looked hi and low and cannot find any other numbers on the instrumentAttachment 197869Attachment 197870Attachment 197871Attachment 197872Attachment 197873
Were you the one who took it apart? Have you plugged it in to see if it works?
The number is a lot number, not a serial number. These did not receive individual numbers.
I bought this used from an older gentleman back around 1978. I played it or actually toyed with it for about 4 years. I removed the electric part because I had no amplifier and thought maybe the acoustics would be better with the pickup removed. For the last 40 years it has been under my bed in the case. I do not know if the person I bought it from purchased it new or not. Do you know how much these sold for new?
No idea what they cost new, but some folks here might have old Harmony catalogs and actually be able to answer that question.
Acoustics on these aren't very good either way, although there is a version with no pickup.
Everything you always wanted to know about batwings.
I just merged the threads again. Bob 1956, any chance that you could simply reply to this large thread and not start another one? Thanks.
Nobody has ever had a definitive answer to these numbers. The part to the right of the H is generally accepted as the model number, the numbers to the left have been assumed to be some part of their production records but those records don't exist. It could have been two numbers, like the first two mean something and the second two mean something. The date codes were misunderstood for years until somebody managed to interview a guy that worked at the plant in the 60's and he told the interviewer what the F and S meant. The H apparently stood for Harmony. I'm assuming they had other letters in there for some instruments that were labeled Harmony but that's conjecture as well.
Sorry I am not too computer savvy. Thanks for the insight to the numbers. The age of this instrument is a gonna be guesstimate at best
It's not much of a guess actually. The model was introduced in 67 but those tuners weren't used until sometime around 1970. They were out of business by 1975 but they ceased production before that. I'm going to guess 70 to 73 and that's not a real wide gap.
Follow the link in Message 21 above. There's some more information there including a catalog page.