1924 F-5 Master Model Mandolin

[Grateful Grandson]

I have had my Grandfathers mandolin in its case for many years and until
a few days ago never actually looked at it closely. I noticed the two labels
that stated it was a 1924 F-5 Master Model and had the signature of Lloyd
Lear as the acoustic engineer. It is dated Feb 18 1924. It has a pick guard
attached to it. It has a number listed there as well. It is in good shape but has
some scratches on it. All the strings are there except one is loose. The metal
piece on the bottom that says Gibson is somewhat tarnished. The inside of the
case in green velvet is still perfect. I live in Southern California and wanted to
know if someone honest I could take it to to have is evaluated and appraised.
Thanks in advance for any info. you can give me.

Grateful Grandson

[multidon]

Take it to Gryphon Strings in Palo Alto. They have a great reputation.

You have just tossed fresh red meat out to our crowd as your mandolin is the holy grail of collectable mandolin, if your description is accurate. There are folks who catalog Lloyd Loar mandolins and yours may very well be an "undiscovered" example.

Retail value could be in the range of 150,000 dollars to over 200,000 dollars depending on a number of factors.

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

Don is right. If you really have what we think you have, take the 7 or so hour drive to Gryphon and have them look at it. If it needs any work, they will be more than qualified to undertake it.

[Mandomusic]

Assuming this is not an early April Fool's post or a hoax, I suggest you take photos of it and post them here on the Cafe. There are a number of resident experts that are within this community. Based on your description above, you may have one of the most coveted mandolins made. Contingent upon the validity and the condition of the instrument, a very preliminary retail value range would be $125,000 to $175,000.

[Mandomusic]

Agree with the above recommendations (take it to Gryphon). Did not see their posts prior to posting.

[Andrew B. Carlson]

And with one short post, the can was opened and the worms escaped.

[DataNick]

Sounds extraordinary, but I'm willing to play!

Pics as stated above; post here, also send the pics to Gruhns & Carter's in Nashville...

[multidon]

Calling Grateful Grandson! What happened to you?

Brand new member, first post, and absolutely no information on his profile page. Red flags?

Methinks something is rotten in Denmark. Open mouth, suck in bait, chew vigorously, swallow hook, line and sinker.

GG, if you are legit, post pictures. If you don't, then the gullible like me fell for what should have been an obvious hoax.

[DataNick]

Wasn't there a thread not long ago about the likelihood of finding a Loar in Grandpa/Granny's closet?

[Grateful Grandson]

Thank you for the information. I don't know anything about mandolins. I am just as surprised as all that have replied. If that is the best place I'll have to plan a trip
up north when I can. One quick question tho. This is all original even with its signs of wear I wouldn't want to them to change anything would I?

Take it to Gryphon Strings in Palo Alto. They have a great reputation.

You have just tossed fresh red meat out to our crowd as your mandolin is the holy grail of collectable mandolin, if your description is accurate. There are folks who catalog Lloyd Loar mandolins and yours may very well be an "undiscovered" example.

Retail value could be in the range of 150,000 dollars to over 200,000 dollars depending on a number of factors.

[DataNick]

Thank you for the information. I don't know anything about mandolins. I am just as surprised as all that have replied. If that is the best place I'll have to plan a trip
up north when I can. One quick question tho. This is all original even with its signs of wear I wouldn't want to them to change anything would I?

You really need to take pics, if even with your smart phone. The recognized industry experts here can privately confirm and advise you on appraisals and the proper security measures, etc.

[multidon]

And he's back!

Still would like to see pictures. And the serial number could confirm that it is genuine and not a forgery. Some forgeries use serial numbers that are duplicated on a known instrument. And of course if this is a hoax you won't know the serial number.

As far as changing things, you don't want anything invasive if it's in good structural shape. But you do want it set up to be made playable, with new strings and a few non invasive adjustments.

[FLATROCK HILL]

Methinks something is rotten in Denmark. Open mouth, suck in bait, chew vigorously, swallow hook, line and sinker.

There's nothing shameful about taking people at their word. It's a sign that you look for the best rather than the worst in your fellow man.
Time...maybe some pictures will tell if the OP is indeed a blessed and lucky grandson, or a lower form of pond algae.

[Grateful Grandson]

The number on the inside of the mandolin is 86346 To whoever sent the private message I couldn't retrieve it possibly because
of pop up blocker. If you reply here with you email I will send a private reply. Thanks.

[DataNick]

That serial# on a quick search of the F5 Journal appears to date it as late 20s...but I'm no expert on this stuff.

[FLATROCK HILL]

The number on the inside of the mandolin is 86346 To whoever sent the private message I couldn't retrieve it possibly because
of pop up blocker. If you reply here with you email I will send a private reply. Thanks.

When you are logged on to this site, you only need to click on 'Private Messages' (upper left corner, just to right of 'New Posts') to access your messages. No pop-up blocker involved that way.

[multidon]

Absolutely impossible for this to be a signed Lloyd Loar with that serial number. Counterfeit label perhaps?

I find it interesting that all of the members most knowledgable on this subject won't touch this thread with a ten foot pole. Maybe it doesn't pass their smell test?

It's been fun, but I'm out. Nothing more to contribute anyway.

[barry]

[QUOTE=multidon;1379421]Absolutely impossible for this to be a signed Lloyd Loar with that serial number. Counterfeit label perhaps?



I'm going with a "counterfeit post".

[Bob Bass]

Pictures will answer many questions. Additional close-ups of both labels will answer even more, if exterior pictures are not definitive.

There could be explanations for "too late" serial #, as unlikely as that may seem.

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

Stranger things can happen. But just as a reference: Thile's Loar from the same batch has a serial number of 75316. I am reserving judgment and secretly rooting for the OP.

To the original poster: If you have trouble posting photo, you're welcome to email them to me at gcgdad@yahoo.com, and I'll make sure they are posted.

[sgarrity]

Don is on it....with that serial number something is up if it does indeed have "Loar's" signature inside.

Assuming this post is for real and not a gag......I'm in Venice and would be happy to look at it for you at no charge. There's not a real vintage mandolin expert in LA that I'm aware of. However, the best/easiest thing for you to do is to post pics of the mandolin here. The world's foremost vintage Gibson experts frequent this board and would be more than happy to give you their thoughts.

[Astro]

[f5loar]

I can appreciate those who are not savy enough to know how to post a photo here. So you find a kid, any kid off the street and bring him into your home and have him snap a photo of the front and back, close ups of the those 2 little labels and tell him to post them here and then you shall have your 100% positive answer is it real or is it a fake for FREE! Take it to Gyphron and they charge for appraisal service. We might save you $50 plus your gas if you post photos here first. I'd hate to pay $50 plus my time and gas to find out it's a fake. Yes, Forest, there are fake Gibson mandolins out there and many of them bare the signature of Lloyd Lear, Lloyd Loud, Lloyd Luke and some may even say Lloyd Loar.

[mrmando]

Grandson — don't change or adjust anything until you have this instrument looked at.

If you're able to take photos but haven't been able to post them, just email them to me at martin[dot]stillion[at]gmail[dot]com and I'll post them here.

The serial number 86346 is problematic because it's from late 1930. Serial numbers on mandolins signed by Loar on 2/18/24 fall into two discrete groups with a few stray numbers between them, but 86346 is not within the range.

[Grateful Grandson]