Here what I found on that banjo.
Trade banjo 1890's Boston.
Possibly made by Cole.
The peg head is like an early Cole.
The heel looks like a Cole.
The dowel stick hardware looks like a Cole.
The dowel stick is stamped Thompson maker Boston.
The tail piece is a Fairbanks,it can be see here,22nd down
http://www.mugwumps.com/tailpieces.html
Possibly a Thomson and Odell connection.
The head and the tension hoop have the same serial # stamped on,
The rim is numbered.
All the hardware is original.
The neck is straight,there is a thin hair crack on the finger board due to the wood being very dry.I oiled it since I got the banjo in.
The frets have a minimum wear ,it appears that the banjo has not be played much.
Large dots inlays.
There is a little chip off on the bottom right of the finger board.
A ding on te bottom left of the peg head.
The banjo has no bridge and is not stringed.
The head is in mint condition.
The tuners are violin pegs style.
I have plenty of pictures of the banjo all and in parts.
If you have any questions ,informations please fel free to contact me.
All the informations I have listed have been provided by 2 knowledgeable persons.
I did some search on my own agree with the findings.
If you think the 3 of us are wrong please share what you know
Thank you.
Come with an little beat up case .
Thre is plenty of pics on my home page
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