Gibson F5 custom 1966 help advice

[f5loar]

I have looked at this one pretty good in the photos. It's got that either/or serial no. of being either a 1966 or a 1969. Without an actual dated receipt to go with it, my gut feeling on this one is it is a 1969. If it had the original case with it, I could tell which year as they changed the case style around 1968. I also think the pickguard is not original, or it could be right for a late 1969. It sure looks original to the mandolin but could be a repo. The "Custom" truss rod cover only means it was custom ordered as all F12s and F5s were custom ordered due to price and demand. Dealers did not stock these upper end models and would take a down payment and order one for a customer. Wait time was a year or longer back then. To me that truss rod cover also seems more '69 than '66. The reddish color shading is also more '69 than '66. I think the price is a bit high for either year.

[Liammyboy1888]

Hi thanks for taking the time to reply to the thread. I purchased this mandolin as a gift for my brother who has had a really tough time medically. I didn't pay anything close to asking price and could have bought a.better mandolin for what I did pay. But there is history with this mandolin. I know it was purchased in 1967 by a guy named Len.Wright. he was part of a 1950s 60s bluegrass brother duo who had a billboard number 3 with a track called island creek mine fire. He also teamed up with Harlin and Stanley on a number of tracks. The mandolin was purchased in 1967 and this is confirmed by his son. if you expand the photo for the serial you can see Len has managed to write his name inside. All in all the a good purchase.