Subject: Gauging Collector Interest: New Old Stock (NOS) Morgan Monroe "Tux and Tails" Limited Edition Open Back
Hi everyone,
I wanted to reach out to the community here to gauge serious collector interest in an incredibly rare piece of Morgan Monroe history.
I have a Morgan Monroe "Tux and Tails" Limited Edition Open Back Banjo in absolute New Old Stock (NOS), mint condition. This instrument has spent its entire life safely stored in its original hardshell case. It has never even been set up or played.
As many of you know, this model featured a classic Whyte Laydie tone ring and was restricted to a production run of only 50 units worldwide. Over the years, there have been persistent rumors in the banjo community that a significant portion of that original batch was unfortunately damaged or destroyed in a shipping/freight accident before ever hitting dealer shelves—meaning the actual number of intact, surviving examples globally is estimated to be closer to 24 units.
Finding one today is rare enough, but finding a completely untouched, immaculate example resting in its original factory case is virtually unheard of…or is it??
I wanted to see if there are any collectors or open-back enthusiasts here who If you are familiar with the history of this run or would be interested in discussing it further, please feel free to comment below or send me a private message.
Thanks for looking, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Please post photos and a Morgan Monroe catalog showing/describing this model.
Someone else may correct me on this, but to the best of my knowledge, the Morgan Monroe brand has only been around since about 2001, and has always sold Asian-made instruments built to a price point by jobbers. Thus, your instrument, although it may be a rare one in the Morgan Monroe line, likely isn't truly collectable and probably isn't worth all that much.
There's very little additional value in an Asian factory rebadge however rare it might be. I guess it's either Samick, made in Korea or Dae Won made in China. Morgan Monroe will have asked for the colour, the neck inlay and the clear head. Typically these sort of banjos don't hold value as well as ones with "better" names on the headstock. The Morgan Monroe even has the cheap Waverly tailpiece which makes me wonder if it has a decent rim or not.
So the Dae Won made Goldtones with whyte laydie style tone rings have more value than, for instance, my Gretsch whyte laydie from the same factory, even though it's almost the same banjo as the MM150/WL150. And the Recording King Californias, which were rebadges of Dae Won factory banjos, seem to be much better though of than exactly the same banjo with a different name on the peghead. I've seen quite decent whyte laydie banjos from the Dae Won factory sell for what is quite silly money because the peghead name is not right.
I doubt there are many, if any, collectors of these sort of banjos. Perhaps some are more interested in the better Japanese made banjos.
Edited by - GrahamHawker on 10/31/2026 07:54:25
This is the only thing I can find on this model. It's a video:
facebook.com/weedpatchm...564480914/
Purty.
Found it on yt, if you don’t do fb
https://youtu.be/aV73CcwmtfI?is=QFgIiimxpHpK6OaB
Edited by - lyndabee on 11/01/2026 13:56:30
quote:
Originally posted by lyndabeePurty.
Found it on yt, if you don’t do fb
https://youtu.be/aV73CcwmtfI?is=QFgIiimxpHpK6OaB
Tailpiece strung incorrectly, which is typical for Waverly tailpieces on Asian banjos.
But, the banjo still sounds good.
Nice banjo. But "collectible"? Naaahhh....
That's a bluegrass banjo "hearts & flowers" inlaid neck grafted onto a Whyte Laydie type open back pot.
Edited by - The Old Timer on 11/01/2026 14:23:23
I agree with others here ...... a nice banjo but little, if any, collectibility.
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