I found this in today's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. I have heard discussions of changes of policy at the Country Music Hall of Fame, focusing more on current stars than the history of the music. This sounds like one of them. I would have thought that his mandolin would have been a centerpiece for the historical exhibits at the Hall of Fame, but I guess not.

Bill Monroe fans were entertained Saturday in Nashville, Tenn., by the bark of an auctioneer rather than by the chirp of the late bluegrass legend's mandolin. Some 100 items from Monroe's estate were auctioned off at the Country Music Hall of Fame, including his pearl inlaid Gibson mandolin and his 50th anniversary Grand Ole Opry ring. The mandolin fetched $22,000, and the ring brought $6,500. While a percentage of the proceeds will go to the Country Music Hall of Fame, the purpose of the two-day affair was mainly to offload Monroe memorabilia that would otherwise get lost or ruined in storage. It also provided a chance for fans to remember a man widely regarded as the father of a uniquely American style of music. "Fans of his have been waiting for this for years," said James Monroe, Monroe's son and sole heir. Monroe, who died at 84 in 1996, is credited with earning bluegrass music wide popularity and giving the mandolin a new role as a lead instrument in country, pop and rock.