Expert: Price Patterson - 11/8/2007

Question
I recently bought an old house and when going through a closet i found and s.s. stewart banjo 5 string. I was wondering if you could help me find its value? According to the 6789 on it I found it was made between 1890 and 1894. I also found that S.S. Stewart was a prominent banjo maker from Philadelphia PA. I found alot about him and his instuments. But not much on the value of such an item. I would hate to get rid of a piece of history and not get what its worth. I also would like to find someone that would really appreciate this banjo. I just have it resting beside the fireplace looking really cool. Thank you

Answer
hey there.
heres the deal. i can't give you the value on that banjo. if you can will you send me pics of the neck of the banjo along with the head of the instruments. the more the pics the more detailed response i can give you. i am very familiar with the S.S. Stewart name. the date you are telling me would put it as a PRE WAR banjo which means it was made before 1921 before ww2. which means it holds some value already. i would bet that it is an open back banjo which means it doesn't have a resonator. just a calf skin head and brackets. send me pics and I'll go from there. it will be worth money even if it's in pretty good shape. do not alter this instrument please. not even in the littlest bit. after receiving the pics i can go from there. oh and by the way. congrats on the new house. and the new banjo. i know I'd love to have that S.S. lol just as decor.