Gibson 4 string model #TG50

by Harriet
(Vero Beach, FL, USA)

I acquired a Gibson 4 string guitar from my father in law and was told it once belonged to "Singing Sam the Barbasol Man" George Pete Hinkle. The serial # is 2289 12. Under the 12 there is the letter S and another letter or number next to the S that I cannot read. Can you give me any information about this guitar? Thank you

ANSWER

Hi, Harriet-

The 4 string guitar is actually a Tenor guitar. Rather than "7G50", your guitar is most likely a "TG50", which was the tenor version of the L50.

These guitars were produced from 1934-58. When I entered the serial number in the dating software, it came back as "unrecognized", which is not unusual for very early models.

Here is a link to tenorguitar.com

There you can find vast information about tenor guitars, including pictures and tuning instructions, chords, and even songs to play.

I could not find any specific pricing info, but I did locate a "TG-1" from the 1930's which had sold for $700.

Hope this helps.
Lynne