Trying to identify your old Gibson banjo? You’ve come to the right place! The Gibson Mastertone banjo set a standard of excellence among four-string players beginning in the jazz era of the 1920s and has been the definitive banjo for bluegrass music ever since five-string virtuoso Earl Scruggs came to prominence as a member of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys in the 1940s. This website is your headquarters for serial numbers, dating, information and identification of vintage Gibson banjos, both Mastertone and non-Mastertone models.

If you’d like to share photos of your old Gibson banjo, or if you have a vintage Gibson banjo that needs to find a new home, please let me hear from you at gearnest@mindspring.com!

It is likely a no-name import, and there is no easy way to identify a modern no-name import banjo; there are hundreds of import makers. This is not made by any of the well-known vintage makers. (speaking as one who is a banjo-picker and owner of several vintage banjos myself). Many banjo manufacturers, in addition to making banjos under their own names, made unmarked banjos for others to sell as well. In some cases, teachers would purchase these instruments and put their own names on them, but in many other cases they carry no identifying name at all. Antique small shaft planets have been added for tuning ease. The original dyed maple 26' scale has been replaced here at SFI with an ebony board. The original inlays are still present and attractively engraved. The banjo's10-3/4' rim has the internationally known Electric Tonering, early two point shoes, and barrel style nuts.

Vintage Banjo Identification Chart

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Antique Banjo Identification Chart Printable

Vintage Banjo Identification

Vintage Banjo Dealers

Wilkes 5-string banjo, Circa 1900 (pearl fingerboard) Windsor A. Windsor 7-string banjo, Circa 1895 (presentation grade) A. Windsor 'Stage' fretless 5-string banjo, Circa 1890's. Unmarked, Minstrel, and Folk-Art Banjos Unmarked fretless 5-string banjo, Circa 1860 Unmarked fretless 5-string banjo. In 1926 Gibson introduced the L-series guitars with the L-0 at $35 and the L-1 at $50 (1928 prices). The L-series is very difficult to properly identify and date as they were inconsistent in their appointments and the catalog descriptions do not always agree with the actual instruments produced.