Up for sale is an iconic early 70s Gibson Mastertone banjo with the original case.

This is a fantastic instrument in good player grade vintage condition. It has been played quite a bit in its life, although not a lot for the last few years.

I figure if you are looking at this instrument you already know what you are looking at so I just tried to find information on this one as much as I could for you.

A phone call to Gibson customer service didn't yield a lot of information, only that the 1 in the serial number first digit place means it was made from 1970 to 1975. I also learned that banjos varied widely in inlay patterns and designs at the time and were not always recorded accurately, so pinpointing it to a year closer than that would be difficult.

You can see the 4 "railroad spikes" that were used with to capo the 5th string still there. A side mounted 5th string capo was also installed and removed at some point in the past, likely when the spikes were installed since they would not have needed both.

You can also see signs of age such as the finish chipping near the binding, all the binding is solid and not moving or loose at all.

Tarnish can be seen on the metal parts of the banjo. We thought it best to leave it as it is instead of disassembling everything and attemtping to clean and polish all of these pieces.

The case is also shows signs of age and use. The handle looks to have been replaced, A make shift handle has been added to the inside compartment lid, and some of the padding has been worn by the Tailpiece.

Offers welcome, this will be shipped with insurance and will likely be a signature required delivery. Care will be taken when packing the banjo so hay it will arrive to you intact and without damage.

Thank you for looking!