The Holy Grail of the acoustic stringed instrument world, a 1924 Gibson Lloyd Loar F-5 mandolin, made an appearance on the popular PBS television program, Antiques Road Show this week.
Frederick Oster with Vintage Instruments in Philadelphia is right on target identifying the mandolin as a Loar, and when he offers his estimation of its worth to the owner, her look of shocked disbelief is classic.
He also gives a nice overview of what sets the Loars apart from what had come before.
