re: What kind of 6 string can you really buy at the 5 and dime?

Here's "close" ... vintage Silvertone H615. These were sold almost exclusively via the Sears catalog so likely in many brick and mortar stores.



This one was in a batch of cheap broken guitars I bought in a salvage lot. It was a mess, DOA, but I structurally restored it.





They were around $19.95 when they debuted in 1963 and peaked out at around $23.95 during their final year of production, 1967.

She's now part of my shop's permanent demo collection.