This is my great grandfather’s banjo. It appears to be quite old. It may have been old when it was first handed to him. I’m going to ask some banjo experts about it. So far I’ve not been able to find any other old banjos which have what appears to be an actual pot lid used as a resonator. Though it’s only fair to point out that this bit of a banjo is actually called a “pot”, so this has complicated my choice of search terms. I’ll post an update when I find out more about it. Mostly I’m posting this so that I have someplace I can point to to show the folks at banjohangout.org what it is I have.

Word back from the fine folks at Banjohangout.org:  Marc Smith says, “Yes, this is yet another Buckbee…made for whoever wanted to sell it. Probably 1880′s but possibly a smidge earlier or as late as post-1900. Made for the trade and sold to dealers everywhere. Pegs could be bone or ivory or celluloid, you’ll just have to have a local expert check them out. Not a particularly valuable or collectible banjo (as banjos go) but irreplaceable as an heirloom.

The pix look very cool and atmospheric…but they’re lousy for identification.

Pot lids were reasonably common later additions, probably added in the 19-teens to twenties. ”