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This rare item just sold in Goodwill, for $239. Having an 8 string one tells me that a 12 would be pretty much a nightmare. I’m wising up by not mentioning what I bid on until it’s over! The owner ca. 1925, who wrote his name on the skin, was easy to find, and it’s possible this was made near him in the Philippines. No maker name was noted, but I’m guessing that it’s under the steel neck brace that supplements the wood rod. Attachment 192212
Deservedly rare, IMHO.
Quite possibly there's no maker ID. Not sure from the pic if there's a decorative extension of the headstock (?). If you think a mandolin-banjo's unnecessarily raucous, consider a mandriola-banjo! Also, good luck finding a 12-string bridge for it...
The scale is difficult to appreciate from a single photograph but the six string “hooks” suggest to me that it may have been intended to be strung as a 12 string guitar.
This could be some variant of the Filipino bandurria which, if so, would be strung in double-string courses, not like a mandriola. Those instruments usually have 14 strings and modern versions have three triple courses, two double courses and one single. I don't know what this one.
I couldn't tell, Richard, if you actually won it or not but since it was sold, why not post a few more photos?
Attachment 192214
The top of the headstock is possibly an identifier. The only other photo shows the backside, but is invisible. Total length is definitely mandolin. No, I dropped out pretty low; in my surplus/used equipment world, 10% of resale price is maximum, unless you’ve got something sold before you buy it. And, of course, insufficient photos, no return, and questionable packing limits how far I’d go on GW. The nice Mexican mando I just received turns out to be another educational project one couldn’t expect from the photos, but that’s ok. Gives me a chance to make an entirely new tool or two.
The fun, of course, with a 12 string on a skin head is that the strings all interact so tuning and keeping it tuned is ....interesting.