Happy New Year, all! My name is Pete McAvity and I just joined the Hangout with the express purpose of assisting a colleague in moving her late father’s instruments. I’ve never sold a banjo (bought a couple!), but have been a hobbyist in the history of vintage electric guitars, steel guitars and amplifiers for over 20 years. I’ve been a member of the Steel Guitar Forum for over 10 years and have bought/sold vintage instruments ranging from. $500-$8000. I’ve done my due diligence (I believe) and did the requisite homework to be sure that I’m providing as accurate a description as possible. I’m selling a 1926 Paramount Style A tenor formerly owned by Mr. Tom Exler, a founding member of The Saint Louis Banjo Club. Tom purportedly used his own handmade banjos on performance dates, so I can’t say how much stage time this one saw, but by appearance it seems to have been extremely well cared for. I can’t see any scars other than surface scratches only visible with light reflection at a greater than 90 degree angle. The tuners, head, and case are replacements, everything else appears to be original. Armrest shows expected wear and tone ring has minimal pitting suggesting that this banjo is a case queen. Screw holes from original tuners were apparently not filled and tinted at time of replacement.
I’m told that a few years back, Tom had an arrangement to sell this tenor for $1000, but the deal fell through. The family would like to see proceeds in the $1000-$1600 range, so I’ll do the haggling for any interested parties: $1000 plus shipping is the go number. More photos available upon request. (Limited to 5 in standard ad). I generally use FedEx (and may have an applicable discount with them through the University I work for), so feel free to shoot me an email for a shipping quote and any other questions.
Thanks and be good,
-Pete