BOSTON -- A New Hampshire couple is facing the music after allegedly trying to pawn an expensive mandolin that wasn't theirs.

Video

Jorge Quiroga Reports On Mandolin

Police said It was the quick thinking instrument owner that helped them catch the couple.

NewsCenter 5's Jorge Quiroga reported that a bluegrass, western swing band without a mandolin just doesn't cut it.

"Well the mandolin is kind of the drum, kind of the percussion of the group. So it's like taking the drum out of it," said mandolin player Arthur Weinstein.

But these days, Weinstein, of the Cambridge-based Bag Boys, is making due with a poor substitute. His $10,000 handmade mandolin was stolen after a concert in Manchester, N.H., last week.

"We were throwing stuff in the car. We drove off with the mandolin sitting on the lawn. A little while later, realized it wasn't in the car," said Weinstein. "(We) headed back and somebody already had picked it up and walked off with it."

Weinstein quickly called police with the bad news. But intuition told him to also call pawnshops and alert them. A return phone call the next day was music to his ears.

"Oh my god. You have no idea. There was no good feelings about having lost it," said Weinstein.

Joshua Harrison, 22, and Ailene Moody, 28, have been charged with stealing the distinctive instrument and then pawning it off for a fraction of the cost.

"Not that they would know what it's worth. They just tried to get $50. Eventually, they tried to get $200 for it," said Weinstein.

Weinstein said this was the second time his prized mandolin went missing and was returned without a scratch.

"At midnight (one) night, I got a call from a fellow who said I found this mandolin. My wife and I were together. His name was Jorge," said Weinstein.