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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;all_fakes, post: 611144, member: 55&quot;]Joseph Mann is not a known banjo maker, so far as I&#039;ve been able to determine, and it is possible the plate refers to an owner, rather than the maker.&nbsp; There are a number of non-standard features, including the headpiece shape.&nbsp; Banjos are more mechanical than most musical instruments, and it is fairly easy to take the pot or drum from an older banjo, and attach a new neck.&nbsp; This could be such a hybrid, or could have been converted from an old tenor or plectrum banjo (4 strings) neck.&nbsp; I note the multiple string-notches in the nut, so that may well have been taken or converted from another instrument.</p><p><br /></p><p>The head appears to have a &quot;Belfast&quot; stamp, another hint.</p><p>Some of the tuning pegs are nice and fancy, but being push-pegs, will be hard to tune, and limit the value.</p><p>Some genealogy research might turn up a possible owner.</p><p>Many of the details point to a date of around 1900, would be my guess.</p><p>There are no frets, right? That would be rare, to say the least, for a commercial instrument from that time period, and points to it being a home-made neck, as a conversion from a tenor or plectrum banjo.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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