My first banjo was a Kay--early 1960s, cost about $30, and worth about just that much as an introductory instrument, which with half a century's inflation would be ??? in 2013 dollars (the U.S. Department of Labor has an online inflation calculator that says $30 in 1961 equates to about $233 today. Is there ANYTHING you can't find on the Internet?). It was OK as a starter banjo; well, better than OK in the sense that there was nothing I found to match it in that price range.

Hey, that was a nice excursion down memory lane. Thanks!