Antique banjo auctions: zither, open back and banjolele, searched at once

Antique banjos span open back and zither construction, plus smaller relatives like the banjolele and banjolin, and are collected for the maker's name, such as Clifford Essex or J.E. Dallas, string count, and completeness with the original resonator or case. A signed example from a recognised maker in playable condition is a genuinely good find.

Why antique banjo lots get missed

General sellers often list a banjo simply as "old banjo" without naming the maker or construction type, so a genuinely desirable named-maker zither or open back example can sit unrecognised inside a listing that looks like any other secondhand instrument.

One search across every platform

Auction Bid Assistant's free browser extension searches the-saleroom, EasyLive, Bidspotter, Invaluable, NumisBids, iCollector and LiveAuctionWorld simultaneously, alongside eBay. Search a maker's name like "Clifford Essex," "zither banjo," "banjolele," or "antique banjo" generally and results return across all of them, with images, estimates, current bids where shown, and sale countdowns, sorted by platform in tabs.

Real results for "antique banjo": genuine antique banjos, including a Clifford Essex open back and a J.E. Dallas zither banjo, found in one search.

It works by searching from inside your own browser, the same as opening and searching each site yourself, just done in seconds. Nothing is stored on our servers, permissions are minimal, and the extension never places a bid on your behalf.

Alerts: for the makers or types you collect

Save a search (a maker's name, "zither banjo," or "antique banjo" generally) and get emailed the moment a new lot matches it, across all covered platforms including eBay, rather than relying on remembering to check each one.

Want to try before installing?

The same search box works on this website with no install at all for eBay, iCollector, LiveAuctionWorld and Featured Auction catalogues, a quick way to see matching banjo lots before adding the rest of the platforms via the extension.

Built for how instrument buyers actually work

Save any lot with one click from search results, export your shortlist as a printable PDF or CSV before a sale, and on the day itself the optional live bridge feeds the auctioneer's asking price into the free bid calculator, so your maximum (with buyer's premium and any applicable taxes included) is always in front of you.

Common questions