I recently bought a pretty much brand new 12" Metal Hoop Weaver with birdseye neck and engraved shield with the date 1910.

It is original with all original hardware, tuners, tailpiece and case (the leather case is in poor condition but I kept it to make a pattern if I ever want to copy it). I paid $725 including shipping from Germany and I feel that I paid over market value.

That is the most I have paid, I have also paid as little as $500 for Weavers.

I cannot tell from your photos, but it is strange that the fingerboard does not have dot position markers, the 5 string nut does not look like the way weaver did his, it is missing the original tailpiece and has had the tuners changed. Was this originally a fretless/smooth arm?

All of these things are going to knock down the price. The only market for these is the tiny "classic banjo" market, and most of us are looking for banjos with the orignial pegs and small frets with nothing funny done to the neck to lower the action for wire strings. I am not in the market, but these changes to yours would have me pass on it if I were.

Post more photos of the hardware, end pin bolt, neck attachment, inside of the rim and clear photos of the fingerboard, peghead, and 5th peg area.

Thanks for there reply. More pics uploaded.

I'd like to see what csacwp thinks about this.

There are some things that don't look correct, but I am far from an expert on Weaver banjos.

The fingerboard looks very thick. The 5th string nut does not look like the usual way Weaver did it. That there are no position markings is strange too.

We know for a fact that Weaver would take back and modernize earlier smooth arm banjos he built, but the examples we have seen where this was done the work was obviously Weaver's.

It is possible that the fingerboard is not original and not put on by Weaver.

Regardless of originality, what is more concerning is the very tall bridge with the wire strings. This tells me that something was done to significantly change the angle of the neck. The dowel stick hole looks to be elongated. I expect something has been done to the dowel end that is not shown in the photos.

I also see that whoever installed the plastic head bent the hooks rather than filing the hoop of the head (which is the correct way to install a plastic head on a Weaver). They also choose to carve/file out a notch in the stretcher hoop rather than use the correct crown height.

Sadly, the person that did that did not follow the rule of making the parts fit the banjo and not the banjo fit the parts.

Restoration of this banjo would FAR exceed the value. That is a shame as it looks like a nice piece of wood for that neck.

You have an early Weaver from the 1880s, as evidenced by the length of the heel, the hardware, and the rim thickness. I think the fingerboard likely is original, but the nut and fifth string pip have been replaced. It was likely fretless and fretted at a later date. The original tuners - likely push pegs - have been replaced with modern geared tuners that are unsuited to the banjo. It looks like the neck angle has been tampered with to fit a tall bridge and steel strings, both of which are also unsuited to this banjo. The original tailpiece is missing, and at least two of the brackets have been replaced.

In excellent, unmolested condition this would be a $500-$800 banjo. In its current condition, I think it's only worth a couple hundred dollars at most, assuming the neck is straight and it doesn't need additional work that isn't obvious from the photos.

I'm located in Northern VA and would be happy to drive down to Richmond to take a look at it. I might be interested in it if it's restorable. It'd be a labor of love and cost more than $800 to restore it, but these are excellent banjos for classic style playing, and I have a soft spot for them.

Interesting! Thanks for the info. Had no idea it was c. 1880. I bought it in 2019 to have a well playing, nice sounding instrument to learn old time on. Banjo is not my main instrument. John C., will keep your offer in mind.