No tone ring, skin head rests on wood.
Nylgut Minstrel strings.

Had frets in a ruined fingerboard.  I took out the frets and put in a fretless rosewood fingerboard veneer.  You can see the sides of the fret slots, in case someone would like to re-fret this banjo to the original scale length.

Uses one of my reproduction, bone tailpieces.

DIMENSIONS:

Head dia. = 11"

Scale length:  now set up as 24"

String span @ nut = 1"

String span @ heel = 1 5/8".

Bridge = 5/8"

12 shoes & hooks (2 missing)

action @ heel  = 1/4".

FLAWS:

Gouge in the back of the neck near the octave position, looks like someone may have put on a neck brace, but there is no corresponding scarring on the dowel.

Uses violin pegs....not really a flaw, but takes some getting used-to if you've never used them.  These are bit less precise than geared tuners, and take more attention than geared tuners.  The banjo stays in tune.

For someone who isn't accustomed to dealing with a hide head, it may take some getting used-to.  Again, not a flaw, but a quirk of a vintage banjo.

Normal scuffing due to age.  Overall the wood finish is in fair to good condition.

ON THE PLUS SIDE:

A solidly-built, good-sounding, simple vintage banjo.