1987 Stelling One-Bird Virginian Gold Plated Hand Engraved Walnut Banjo USA

A rare 1987 Stelling One-Bird Virginian from the original Philadelphia owner. Bought new from Mandolin Brothers in Staten Island in 1987, this banjo has been with one careful owner its entire life. In April 2026, Steve Huber and his team at Huber Banjos in Hendersonville, Tennessee refreshed the gold plating across all the hardware before it arrived at our shop in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

THE ONE-BIRD ERA

The single mother-of-pearl Cardinal in the peghead identifies this as a One-Bird Virginian, the configuration Stelling Banjo Works built between 1986 and 1995. Stelling added a second Cardinal to the fingerboard beginning in 1996, creating the Two-Bird Virginian. Pre-1996 examples are getting harder to find. This is a year-two production example from when Stelling first introduced the Virginian model.

SPECIFICATIONS

Year: 1987

Maker: Stelling Banjo Works, Virginia, USA

Model: Virginian, One-Bird era (1986-1995)

Serial number: 3149

Neck: American walnut

Resonator: American walnut, figured

Plating: Gold, refreshed April 2026 by Huber Banjos

Engraving: Hand-engraved Dogwood motif on tailpiece, armrest, and flange

Tone ring: Proprietary Stelling tone ring

Peghead inlay: Mother-of-pearl Cardinal

Fingerboard inlays: Mother-of-pearl Dogwood

12th fret inlay: Mother-of-pearl VIRGINIAN

Tuners: Schaller D-style on 2nd and 3rd strings, original Stelling on 1st, 4th, and 5th

Number of strings: 5

Country of manufacture: United States

INCLUDED

Original Stelling hardshell case in excellent condition

Original case key

Original Stelling adjustment tool

Original Stelling warranty paperwork

PROVENANCE

The previous and only owner was a Philadelphia-area player who bought the banjo new from Mandolin Brothers in Staten Island in 1987. Single owner since new. The truss rod cover was engraved with the previous owner's personal nickname. It can be retained as a piece of the instrument's history or swapped for a standard Stelling cover if preferred.

The gold plating was refreshed in April 2026 by Steve Huber and the team at Huber Banjos in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Huber is widely regarded as one of the finest banjo shops in the United States and our banjo tech Tara trained at the Huber factory under Steve Huber and Bennie Boling.

CONDITION

Excellent throughout. The neck is straight, the frets show minimal wear, the gold plating is fresh from the recent Huber work, the head is in good shape, and the original case has held up well. No structural issues. Plays cleanly with proper setup performed at our shop in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

ABOUT THE SELLER

Banjo Warehouse is a specialty banjo retailer in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Owner Geoff Hohwald has been playing and selling banjos since 1963 and built Banjo Warehouse into a full-time business in 1980. We are an authorized Gold Tone and Deering dealer and we specialize in the 5-string flathead banjo.

QUESTIONS

Message through eBay messages.

WATCH THE WALKTHROUGH

We recorded a full walkthrough of this banjo. Search YouTube for "1987 Stelling One-Bird Virginian Banjo Warehouse" or visit our website for the video, additional photos, and full details.