Thinking about buying this banjo

[John Cohen]

Anybody have any idea who made it and a time period?  Seller thinks its from the 1870s.

[John Cohen]

[John Cohen]

I'm primarily interested in the Civil War period, so 1860s, although I'm also interested in the earlier minstrel era.  The seller says the neck is slightly warped but not in such a way that it affects play-ability.  It sounds nice to my ears- light and plunky 

[John Cohen]

I've already got a bell and I have a hartel on order. This banjo wouldn't be used for reenacting due to its age. All I'm curious about is how old it is- whether it is from the 1860s or 1870s.

[Dave Culgan]

Probably mid to late 1865 or 1866. Just kidding.

[Joel Hooks]

No way to tell.  These were still listed and sold through jobber catalogs well into the 1890s.

The round dowel was used as a labor saving method during mass production.  Mass production being a response to major demand.  Major demand started in the late 1870s and peaked in the 1890s.

While a cool banjo, it does not have some of the features (like a square dowel) that are attributed to higher quality banjos--it is certainly not a museum show piece.

Despite the opinions of some, low quality trade goods from a past era are still low quality trade goods.

Is it worth the asking price of $1100?  Absolutely not... that is unless you pay that.  Then it was worth it only for the exact moment that you put cash on the barrel.

$600 is very high, $300 is reasonable, $200-- it would have already sold.

Here is a jobber's page from 1893 with this banjo.  Notice that the price is $7.50  That is about $200 dollars today (take that with a grain of salt). Compare that to other Buckbee banjos of the era at $30 (still not pro level banjos, but made with better parts).  Stamp "Dobson" on the inside, that adds +/- $10.

But I digress.  $400 max on this one.  Not ACW vintage, age--1870-1900 (likely 1890s, how's that for narrowing it down).

[Wes Merchant]

Here'e a really similar pot that is stamped 1867 per Bill. He may have some more information if you email him, I believe his contact info is on his site.

http://www.billsbanjos.com/1867fretless.htm

[Joel Hooks]

Hi Wes, look again.  Completely different banjo with entirely different construction.  The referenced banjo from Bill's site has a solid brass rim, not to mention that everything else is shaped differently.

The above referenced banjo has a metal clad over wood rim.

Clad rims date from at least 1855, but we are not discussing when construction styles began.  The question here is dating and providing a free appraisal surface.

The catalog page posted above is from 1893, and pictures the exact model of banjo with consistent description.  That is a pretty good case that this banjo was built/sold in the 1890s.

 This style of banjo answered the call of store stock.  "Trade goods" to fill shelves with affordable popular items.

[Wes Merchant]

Yes, I see that now, at first look I thought it solid brass, my eyes aren't what they used to be.