OS Sovereign? $100

[NickR]

The seller also has another auction of a Harmony mandolin that he is convinced is from OS but this is almost certainly an OS Sovereign.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/35500143255...3ABFBM5oO798Zi

This is a typical Sovereign- they probably came with two body shapes but although not the same as the one above, it has many similarities.

https://umgf.com/1920s-oscar-schmidt...n-t146902.html

[MikeEdgerton]

The seller has a Harmony mandolin that he is convinced is from OS but this is almost certainly a Sovereign.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/35500143255...3ABFBM5oO798Zi

This is a typical Sovereign- they probably came with two body shapes but although not the same as the one above, it has many similarities.

https://umgf.com/1920s-oscar-schmidt...n-t146902.html

I'm not following you here. Sovereign was an Oscar Schmidt brand name and unless he changed his verbiage on his auction I'm not seeing anything about a Harmony. Harmony did end up with the Sovereign brand name decades after this was built.

[NickR]

Mike, he has another auction that he says is an OS mandolin but I believe it is from Harmony. It is pretty much the same as the one two up from the Supertone Viol in this old Sears, Roebuck ad.

[MikeEdgerton]

OK, you're referring to this auction.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/37489368282...AAAOSwcjZk43YF

[NickR]

Yes, as I mentioned it is very like the Supertone mahogany mandolin in that old ad I posted. I don't think it is rosewood.

[brunello97]

Nick....hombre.....it is really frustrating when you just post links to these ads without taking a minute to post a photo or two.

I don't mean to be a crank, but it can make the discussions so much simpler to track and allow the images and discussion to carry on after the ebay ad is taken down.

You discover all kinds of great stuff and I appreciate you sharing that information. Adding a photo or two just takes another minute or two.

Here's a couple shots of the mandolin Mike linked to.

The back looks like rosewood to me.

Nice looking mandolin for the price in my view. I've had a number of spruce top / rosewood back flatbacks that have been great sounding instruments.

Mick

[NickR]

Mick, I have been posting photos of the rarer or more unusual mandolins but did not for the $100 mandolin I thought was from OS- it appears to have sold as it was a reasonable price. The one that Mike posted- which I think is from Harmony- not OS, I thought was probably mahogany as the rosewood versions I have seen always seem to have a two piece back but it may be rosewood and thus means my earlier rule about one piece and two piece backs is not universal!
Don't worry, I will post photos- as I did with the Jetel mandolin that someone else featured a few months later! I agree that further down the line, having photos means these threads become valuable sources of info rather than just tantalising "what ifs" had the photos been secured for posterity. Here are two of what I think was an OS Sovereign mandolin as discussed initially.

[Mark Gunter]

Thanks Nick (and Mick), it’s frustrating to see threads referring to instruments whose links and thus pics are long gone.