These pages are about Bill Monroe’s famous,
1923 Lloyd Loar Gibson F5 mandolin.
It all started in a Barbershop in Florida early 1945. Bill found his
soon to become, most famous band member, the Lloyd Loar F5
mandolin made by Gibson, for the next 51 years it would be his
best friend. He paid $150 dollars for it. After finding the F5, Bill
went on to write hundreds of songs and the F5 went with him all
over the world. On a cold day in November in 1985, after going
to lunch with his wife Della, they came home to find his beloved
mandolin broken into pieces and the fire poker pushed through
it. Whoever did it even smashed it over the mantelpiece. He
contacted Gibson and they got up all the little pieces of the
Mandolin. Gibson worked on it for three months to get it back
together. On February 23, 1986 Charles Derrington (A master
Luthier at Gibson Company) gave it back to Bill. It would stay by
his side the rest of his life. Bill Monroe made the F5 so famous
that in 1991 Gibson made the Bill Monroe series Replica mandolin,
with Bills signature on the label inside everyone sold. There were 200
made a year for four years and the first two were given to Bill Monroe.
All were numbered and were presold and the Luthier name was signed
on the second label inside. Each Monroe signed F5 had a product
number and a certificate of authenticity in a custom case. Gibson also

put out Bill Monroe signature mandolin strings to go with the Bill
Monroe mandolin replica, they would work with all Gibson mandolins.
The Bill Monroe foundation won the bid that was $1.125 million dollars,
they put up 10% but were unable to obtain the rest. A music collector
and money investor Robert W. (Bob) Mclean made arrangements with
James Monroe to obtain the F5. Robert then donated the mandolin to
the Country Music Hall of Fame on September 13, 2005 the
anniversary of Bill Monroe’s 94th Birthday, where it remains on display.
I think Bill would be proud that it is there for all the people to see and
know what it means to Bluegrass music. In 1980 Gibson replaced the
faceplate which was 101/2 inches long on Bills F5 where he had
gouged out the name Gibson in the early 50s. On December 3, 2009
Christie’s auction house in New York sold the faceplate from Bill’s F5
for $37.500.15 they had estimated that it would bring $5,000 to $7,000.
Our friend David Stringfield.
One winter night on the Grand Ole Opry Bill Monroe gave David
Stringfield the 1991 # two Monroe F5 series mandolin replica, for all his
help while he was recovering from his bypass surgery it was a great
night. In 1991 David Stringfield was president and CEO of Baptist
Hospital in Nashville TN. He was over the administrative staff for over
30 years. He made all the special arrangements for entertainers when
they came to the hospital.
David Stringfield has SOLD the F5 replica.