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Thread: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might be?

  1. #1

    Post Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might be?

    This was my grandfathers and my Dads. We have pictures of Dad and old 8mm film of him playing it back in the 40's and of course I have fond memories of him playing it when I was a kid. Unfortunately he passed in 1981 and I've had it ever since. where can you find the serial number and factory order number? I'm barely able to read the label but as best as I can tell, in pencil it says cursive capital 'A' and on top is cursive "Mandolin." The serial number is a different lot, looking more like letters than numbers. and at the back inside the hole is a number stamped in ink, '2950.' Otherwise, there's patents marked here and there on various pieces. There's a bit of wear above the pick guard because my grandfather played it left handed. Two strings are missing along with the end cap or tail piece. Other than that Its the same as when i got it in 1981. No damages or repairs. The carrying case is original black, some sort of heavy grained leather, slightly worn in a few edge spots, but the interior purple velvet is intact. Dad left some of his Gibson strings in there also in their original bags and box. I contacted a place who wheels and deals in these things who called me ASAP the next morning wanting to buy it but wouldn't give me a price until I sent it to them. Is this a 1912 A style Gibson? Is it rare? Or is it a different year?
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  2. #2

    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    Stamp will be your FON, and that's from about 1916 I think, from what I have read.

  3. #3
    Café habitué Paul Hostetter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    The tuners look more early-teens than 1916, and the bridge is a non-original replacement. But I buy 1916 as the year of manufacture. Good luck with the prospective buyer, hope you don't get fleeced. I'd never ship an instrument to someone to find out what they'd offer for it unless they paid shipping both ways, in case you didn't like their offer.

    The serial number would be a series of five numbers, probably starting with a 3. Look harder!

    Year Last Number
    ---- -----------
    1912 13350
    1913 16100
    1914 20150
    1915 25150
    1916 32000
    1917 39500
    1918 47900
    1919 53800
    1920 63650
    Last edited by Paul Hostetter; Jan-04-2011 at 9:29pm.
    .
    ph

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  4. #4
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    Paul is right about tuners and bridge. You are also missing the tailpiece cover, which is too bad. That knocks some off the value. it is a straight A which is certainly not rare -- Gibson made quite a few and since they built them to last, there are prob most of them still in good playing condition. Yours is not pristine but I would only consider the wear on top from your viewpoint a positive trait since it was prob caused by your grandpa and dad's playing. Dealers would prob knock some $$ off the value because of that.
    Jim

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  5. #5
    Registered User robert.najlis's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    they can't even give you a possible price range? Or some possibilities as to price, such as - well if it si very good condition , or if needs repair.... etc? You might do just as well selling it here on the cafe, but who knows....

  6. #6

    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    Thank you all with the posts as this has been quite an emotional, inspirational and educational experience for me. Yes the tail piece is too bad, as I remember seeing it in Dad's "junk drawyer" in mom's kitchen, never really knowing what it was until now. The house and contents are long gone. I have already decided prior that I'm not sending Dad's mandolin anywhere except to someone who knows what it really is and will re-string it and "play the hell out of it" as Dad said and did. I don't want it to sit here idle and collecting dust anymore. I want to find it a happy, permanent home maybe, and request "visitation rights" to hear how it's doing from time to time. In time, I will send you pictures and video of the very mandolin you own, in action with my Dad, Uncles and cousin Boootsie with my mandolin from the early days.

  7. #7
    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    Considering the wear and the missing/non-original hardware, and provided that it doesn't need repair or a major setup job, I'd say you could feel good about getting $800 for it.

    You might want to wait for a couple of other folks to weigh in on the value ... I can be a little optimistic sometimes, one way the other.

    I would be highly suspicious of anyone who asked me to ship an instrument without even telling me what he or she intends to offer for it. When I sell instruments to someone I don't know personally, I take the money up front, unless perhaps I'm selling to a known collector or professional player. Your wheeler/dealer probably sought to assess the instrument's condition before committing to a purchase ... but that can be covered with written contracts/approval periods/deposits and such.

    If there's a local repair shop you can take it to, you can at least find out if it needs fixing up. Regardless, you should offer it "on approval," meaning that the buyer has a specified period of time to decide whether to keep it.

    To sell it here, however, you should place a classified ad. Don't try to advertise it in this discussion thread.
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  8. #8

    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    no...as soon as I got to talk to these guys,I knew what they were up to. email me and I'll tell you who they are. It's West Coast....blankety blank and blank. I appreciate their quick response but don't like their false advertisement about "free online appraisal."

  9. #9

    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    yup I needa flashlight with a gooseneck to look closely at the number. I had my wife look at it too and she too, thought it looked light letters instead of numbers. We're gonna look at it again. See what we can find out....

  10. #10

    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    Thank you. I will research that. I just want to find the end of the line history on this thing.

  11. #11

    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    highly suspicious is an understatement. I agree. And thank you for the info.

  12. #12

    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    I checked again- that FON could easily be 1915 or 1916. The serial number would be more reliable if it could be made out.

  13. #13

    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    ahhhh....the numbers still don't look anything like numbers. They look more like letters but I still can't see it clearly. It's frustrating.

  14. #14

    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    thanks for the info.

  15. #15

    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    I need to look at it or identify it by some other means. i might have to remove the original strings to get a closer look at it.

  16. #16
    Hester Mandolins Gail Hester's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    Try checking the serial number with a black light and different light sources and angles. I can often get the number to pop out trying different things. I believe that pick guard style with the celluloid tort support arm was used until about 1918 so the 1916 placement is probably correct. I need a closer up picture of the tuners since they could be older as Paul suggests or newer than the mandolin if they have butterscotch colored buttons, I can't tell from the picture. Good luck to you.
    Gail Hester

  17. #17
    Henry Lawton hank's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    If you remove all the strings the bridge will fall off. Mandolin bridges float and aren't attached to the body other than the downward tension of the strings. The saddle of the bridge may also come lose so it might be a good idea to tape it together after removal and mark the tape with an arrow or something to keep all the parts correctly oriented when it is reassembled. The finish on the top plate should get it back close enough to start intonation movements during the new setup. Even if you don't do the setup it will help who ever does. Take your time selling your fathers mandolin, it's not a lot of money and you may regret selling it once it's gone.

  18. #18
    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    Looks to me on the photos as if somebody wrote a name in blue pen right over the place where the serial number should be. That may be your dad's name or that of a previous owner, but it doesn't look like an original Gibson identifier. For some reason, Gibson were in the habit of writing the serial number on the label in pencil(!), and although it looks to me like there are traces of black/gray writing underneath the blue, with the later writing on top of it, I cannot make out any of the digits.

    Looks very nice, though. I agree with everybody else here -- these are wonderful instruments and their musical value is in no way reflected by their financial value simply because there are so very abundance. That makes them excellent instruments to buy, but not so excellent to sell. Think carefully before you sell to be sure you won't regret it.

    Martin

  19. #19
    Registered User Bill Snyder's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    Quote Originally Posted by tatsnhogs View Post
    I need to look at it or identify it by some other means. i might have to remove the original strings to get a closer look at it.
    Don't worry about the strings impacting value. They are not the original strings. Players replace strings on a regular basis (some weekly or monthly).
    Bill Snyder

  20. #20

    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    thanks. I've been thinking about light sources and angles. I will try that...

  21. #21

    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    got it. thank you.

  22. #22
    Certified! Bernie Daniel's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    Couple of things. If you really needed to know the serial number (I do not think you do) it was generally the practice of Gibson to pencil it in on the back under the label.

    But you need to know what you are doing to successfully soak off an old mandolin label and then dry and glue it back on without destroying it. So I don't recommend it and besides you know now it is probably a "teens" mandolin and that is close enough. Whether it is 1916 or 1918 does not much matter in the bigger scheme of things or the value.

    It is a nice old mandolin but considering it is a lower-end A-model (A, A-0 or A jr) and that it is missing some hardware, has a softshell case, and some wear on the top -- I agree $800 to $900+ would be a fair price for it.

    You can answer more than one comment in a single reply by using @Whomever and then type the answer for that comment. Don't have to do it that way -- just easier.
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    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    I agree with those who have advised you not to get in a big hurry to sell it, as you could eventually regret that decision. It isn't worth many thousands of dollars, and the money will be gone shortly, and then you have nothing left but some memories and old films. Who knows, someday you or a member of your family might want to learn, and that would be a wonderful legacy to have.

  24. #24
    Registered User Mark Gibbs's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    I use one of my cameras that is capable of taking close ups (Canon S2IS) and a flashlight as a light source rather than the camera flash to take a photo of a label then put the photo on the computer for processing. Here is an example of one that i could not read the serial number but with a photo able to make it out. You can see the serial #802 in the photo. This is the label on my 1936 King Mortone bass. Photography is another of my hobbies and a useful tool. I hope this helps you.
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  25. #25
    Certified! Bernie Daniel's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anyone confirm what year and model this Gibson mandolin might

    Quote Originally Posted by Rroyd View Post
    I agree with those who have advised you not to get in a big hurry to sell it, as you could eventually regret that decision. It isn't worth many thousands of dollars, and the money will be gone shortly, and then you have nothing left but some memories and old films. Who knows, someday you or a member of your family might want to learn, and that would be a wonderful legacy to have.
    Copy that!
    Bernie
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