The 2 Series horns have a five- or six-digit serial number. The form is essentially, mmyynn.
47523 = April, 1975.
127513 = December, 1975.
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The 3 Series horns have a seven- or eight-digit serial number. Probably the first number is the month the horn was made in. This would therefore mean that a seven-digit serial number would mean the horn was made in October through December. The second and third numbers are probably the year. The last two or three digits of the serial number may also be stamped on the neck and other parts. Examples:
2364313 = February (2) 3rd (3) 1964 (64)
12364313 = December (12) 3rd (3) 1964 (64)
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All other horns produced until about 1980 have a six-, seven-, or eight-digit serial number. Probably the first one or two numbers are the month the horn was made in. This would therefore mean that a seven-digit serial number would mean the horn was made in October through December. The second and third numbers are probably the year. The last two or three digits of the serial number may also be stamped on the neck and other parts. Examples:
372278 = March (3) 1972 (72)
1272278 = December (12) 1972 (72)
10701101 = October (10) 1970 (70)
I had someone ask, so I wanted to expand on this:
Those last three or four numbers possibly mean something, but what, exactly, is a good question. The only definite is that Yani used those numbers to match up parts, in other words, "Oh. Serial number 372278 needs a altissimo E key? Stamp the key with '278' to make sure it stays with the horn."
Sticking with the example horn of 372278 (and I'll call it a series 4 alto),
* It's definitely not the 278th Yanagisawa ever made
* It's probably not the 278th series 4 horn made
* It's probably not the 278th series 4 alto made
* It's probably not the 278th Yanagisawa made in 1972
* I think it's most likely that it's the 278th Yanagisawa made in March 1972, but I could be wrong
* It's possible that "278" means something completely different. 278th order that month/year?
I probably could confirm my "most likely" scenario if I had a series 4 and series 5 (they were produced at the same time) where one had the serial number 372278 and the other had the serial number 472278. However, I'm not currently that interested in wading through all the pictures I have .
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Horns produced after 1980 seem to follow the original chart, which I'll include below. However, I've just gotten through to the 500 Series and 6 Series, as of June 8, 2014, so I haven't gotten beyond 1980 in my research.
EDIT on 07-18-2014: Chris J's A-600 was confirmed by Yanagisawa to have been made in April of 1980. His horn's serial number is 03803xxx, so that means there were some 1980 horns that followed the old serial number format. Why doesn't Yanagisawa say the horn was from March (i.e. the "03" that starts the serial number)? It could be that "April 1980" is when the horn was sold. Or when it was completed. Or something like that.
1980 - 00102143
1981 - 00106981
1982 - 00111892
1983 - 00117142
1984 - 00122663
1985 - 00128485
1986 - 00134903
1987 - 00141658
1988 - 00148774
1989 - 00156006
1990 - 00162968
1991 - 00170073
1992 - 00177116
1993 - 00184318
1994 - 00189050
1995 - 00197400
1996 - 00205400
1997 - 00213000
1998 - 00219500
1999 - 00228250
2000 - 00235000
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EDIT Jan. 8, 2017: added info about last 3/4 numbers of pre-1980ish serials.
47523 = April, 1975.
127513 = December, 1975.
===================
The 3 Series horns have a seven- or eight-digit serial number. Probably the first number is the month the horn was made in. This would therefore mean that a seven-digit serial number would mean the horn was made in October through December. The second and third numbers are probably the year. The last two or three digits of the serial number may also be stamped on the neck and other parts. Examples:
2364313 = February (2) 3rd (3) 1964 (64)
12364313 = December (12) 3rd (3) 1964 (64)
===================
All other horns produced until about 1980 have a six-, seven-, or eight-digit serial number. Probably the first one or two numbers are the month the horn was made in. This would therefore mean that a seven-digit serial number would mean the horn was made in October through December. The second and third numbers are probably the year. The last two or three digits of the serial number may also be stamped on the neck and other parts. Examples:
372278 = March (3) 1972 (72)
1272278 = December (12) 1972 (72)
10701101 = October (10) 1970 (70)
I had someone ask, so I wanted to expand on this:
Those last three or four numbers possibly mean something, but what, exactly, is a good question. The only definite is that Yani used those numbers to match up parts, in other words, "Oh. Serial number 372278 needs a altissimo E key? Stamp the key with '278' to make sure it stays with the horn."
Sticking with the example horn of 372278 (and I'll call it a series 4 alto),
* It's definitely not the 278th Yanagisawa ever made
* It's probably not the 278th series 4 horn made
* It's probably not the 278th series 4 alto made
* It's probably not the 278th Yanagisawa made in 1972
* I think it's most likely that it's the 278th Yanagisawa made in March 1972, but I could be wrong
* It's possible that "278" means something completely different. 278th order that month/year?
I probably could confirm my "most likely" scenario if I had a series 4 and series 5 (they were produced at the same time) where one had the serial number 372278 and the other had the serial number 472278. However, I'm not currently that interested in wading through all the pictures I have .
===================
Horns produced after 1980 seem to follow the original chart, which I'll include below. However, I've just gotten through to the 500 Series and 6 Series, as of June 8, 2014, so I haven't gotten beyond 1980 in my research.
EDIT on 07-18-2014: Chris J's A-600 was confirmed by Yanagisawa to have been made in April of 1980. His horn's serial number is 03803xxx, so that means there were some 1980 horns that followed the old serial number format. Why doesn't Yanagisawa say the horn was from March (i.e. the "03" that starts the serial number)? It could be that "April 1980" is when the horn was sold. Or when it was completed. Or something like that.
1980 - 00102143
1981 - 00106981
1982 - 00111892
1983 - 00117142
1984 - 00122663
1985 - 00128485
1986 - 00134903
1987 - 00141658
1988 - 00148774
1989 - 00156006
1990 - 00162968
1991 - 00170073
1992 - 00177116
1993 - 00184318
1994 - 00189050
1995 - 00197400
1996 - 00205400
1997 - 00213000
1998 - 00219500
1999 - 00228250
2000 - 00235000
---------------
EDIT Jan. 8, 2017: added info about last 3/4 numbers of pre-1980ish serials.
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