j45nick Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I was sitting in my office pickin' away last night when my wife called me into the living room to look at an instrument on TV on Antiques Roadshow (Tulsa, OK). A young woman had brought in her grandfather's (or great-grandfather's) Gibson mandolin, which had been in a closet in the family home for more than 75 years. I almost died when the appraiser opened the case. I was babbling to my wife "It's the holy grail, it's the holy grail". It was, believe it or not, a 1924 Gibson Master Grade F-5, dated and signed by Lloyd Loar. The mandolin was in near-perfect condition, having been purchased barely used in 1930 (she said for $600, which would have been a huge amount of money back then), played for a few years, and put away for the last 75 years. The case was also perfect, a rectangular fitted case lined with green velvet. It was of those things you only dream about. The appraiser said in that condition it was worth $175,000. Would that make it one of the most valuable Gibson instruments that does not have a direct connection with a specific artist (for example, Clapton's ES 335 sold for $800,000)? Bob Birdwell, I know you're looking for a mandolin right now....... edit: on reading the transcript, she said he paid $20, which she said would have been the equivalent of $600 today. Not sure how accurate the comparison is, when you consider that a new J-45 cost $45 in 1943, and a new one goes for $2000+ today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Video clip embedded here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/201104A33.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 My wife watches the show and called me in when the mandolin came up. The guy doing the appraisal pretty much seemed to know what it was as soon as he saw the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Very sweet, indeed! I love these type of finds.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 The appraiser is Fred Oster, whose company website is vintage-instruments.com. They are a rare violin dealer in Philadelphia, and have a vintage guitar/mandolin dealership as well. They have a really nice assortment of vintage Gibsons, a huge and varied assortment of vintage Martins, and are a new Martin dealer as well. They also have a variety of other vintage guitars as well. Great pictures on their vintage Gibson and Martins, and the descriptions are very detailed. Worth a visit to the website, if only to drool. I've seen him on the roadshow before, but wasn't familiar with his company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisM Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 We had a similar LL signed mandolin near me recently (Folkway Music). It was also going for 175K if I remember right. Crazy! The L-5's don't go for that much irrc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Oooooouuuhhhh - just beautiful and beautiful. I think I saw Orville's spirit hover over this scene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modoc_333 Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I was sitting in my office pickin' away last night when my wife called me into the living room to look at an instrument on TV on Antiques Roadshow (Tulsa, OK). A young woman had brought in her grandfather's (or great-grandfather's) Gibson mandolin, which had been in a closet in the family home for more than 75 years. I almost died when the appraiser opened the case. I was babbling to my wife "It's the holy grail, it's the holy grail". It was, believe it or not, a 1924 Gibson Master Grade F-5, dated and signed by Lloyd Loar. The mandolin was in near-perfect condition, having been purchased barely used in 1930 (she said for $600, which would have been a huge amount of money back then), played for a few years, and put away for the last 75 years. The case was also perfect, a rectangular fitted case lined with green velvet. It was of those things you only dream about. The appraiser said in that condition it was worth $175,000. Would that make it one of the most valuable Gibson instruments that does not have a direct connection with a specific artist (for example, Clapton's ES 335 sold for $800,000)? Bob Birdwell, I know you're looking for a mandolin right now....... edit: on reading the transcript, she said he paid $20, which she said would have been the equivalent of $600 today. Not sure how accurate the comparison is, when you consider that a new J-45 cost $45 in 1943, and a new one goes for $2000+ today. No. 1958-1960 Sunburst Les Pauls generally go in the 6 digit price range. $175k would buy you one that isn't that cool, not a great top, in kinda rough shape but with no major issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Yea, I saw that. I think Fred played it pretty cool, but you could tell he was excited -- I mean for Fred:rolleyes:. I actually thought it was a little low -- I don;t follow this stuff too closely, but I would more like $250K. Maybe they have come down. Banjothon was last weekend. We did not get to go this year, but the last year I went there were five there. I think four of them belonged to Herschel Sizemore. Best, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Yea, I saw that. I think Fred played it pretty cool, but you could tell he was excited -- I mean for Fred:rolleyes:. I actually thought it was a little low -- I don't follow this stuff too closely, but I would more like $250K. Maybe they have come down. Banjothon was last weekend. We did not get to go this year, but the last year I went there were five there. I think three of them belonged to Herschel Sizemore. Best, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 This episode of the Roadshow first aired two years ago. I can't recall if I saw it then or during an earlier repeat, but like most of you, my jaw dropped when I saw what she had. Seems like I'd heard the instrument was auctioned off, but not positive about that. One thing I do know for sure: My Loar-era '22 "A" is as close as I'll ever get to the Loar connection! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbuck Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 This episode of the Roadshow first aired two years ago. I can't recall if I saw it then or during an earlier repeat, but like most of you, my jaw dropped when I saw what she had. Seems like I'd heard the instrument was auctioned off, but not positive about that. One thing I do know for sure: My Loar-era '22 "A" is as close as I'll ever get to the Loar connection! I know that I would have auctioned it off too. I'd have trouble sleeping with something that expensive in my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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