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If you decide to play it put on light strings, it's not built for regular mandolin strings.

The instrument was designed by Frank Kordick the president of Regal in Chicago. The patent is below. Although these reverse scroll mandolins were manufactured with dozens of brand names and many...

The tailpiece looks quite recent.

Nice! As a family heirloom it’s actually kind of cool that it’s a fake, makes for a colourful story, and makes you want to know more.

It definitely needs to be setup properly though, before a...

The best place for it would be in the hands of your 16 year old daughter if she is interested. The family heritage would be more value than the few dozen or hundred bucks it would get you.

Here is one sold by Lyon & Healy- which had a very close relationship with Regal- Regal made many of their instruments. Your mandolin has lost its original tailpiece- it may have had one like this...

Somebody went to a lotta work to phony-up the headstock logo and label. Wonder if somewhere in its history someone worked a major swindle, pocketed big beaux?

Also known around these parts as a "reverse scroll" or "smurf" mandolin. You can use those terms to search the MCafe "Looking for Information" forum for more information, if you're inclined. Here's...

No, it's not a toy. It was a reasonably well made, modestly priced instrument when it was built. These are worth a few hundred today if they're in playable condition and aren't too beat up. Yours...

That is a blatant fake, hopefully your Grandad did not pay much for it. :(

Yes, the label and logo are false. This instrument was made in Chicago, most likely by Regal. It was not made by Gibson.

Unfortunately, it’s not a Gibson. It looks like a Regal Lyra and someone has stenciled or stickered its peghead.