I've created a very comprehensive chart with a lot of info at http://thesax.info/serials.htm.
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Added July 9, 2014:
I wanted to add this because I keep forgetting to mention this and I get a lot of e-mails about it.
Serial number charts are a really bad way of determining what model horn you have. As an easy example, if you look at a serial number chart and it says the serial number is correct for a Selmer Mark VI, but the horn is stamped something completely different, like, "Selmer New York," then you don't have a Mark VI. This can be confusing when the maker doesn't bother giving a name to the model horn you have, like SML. In the case of SML, if you have a horn that has, "Gold Medal" stamped on the bell and the serial number chart I wrote says it's a "Rev. D," the chart is wrong.
Also note that sometimes manufacturers release one pitch of a certain horn earlier than other pitches. As an example, I'm doing some Yanagisawa saxophone research. Sometimes Yanagisawa released the alto model first, sometimes a tenor or a soprano. If the serial number chart says that the T-4 was introduced in 1965 (making it up) and you have a horn stamped "T-4" that has a 1963 serial number, it's still a T-4.
Finally, some manufacturers released a few "prototype" models before the model became standardized. This was often the case with Selmer saxophones, for example. So, if you have a horn that's labeled, "Mark VII," and looks like it's a Mark VII, it's probably a Mark VII, regardless of what the serial number is.
(Before I get overly flamed, I know people will argue that, say, their Mark VII is really a Mark VI, even though it's stamped "Mark VII," but it has a Mark VI serial number. You can go ahead and argue that point. You could be right.)
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-> Note that Yamaha serial numbers don't seem to correspond to anything, in particular.
-> American-made stencils do not have extant serial number charts. There are some theories about Pan American serial numbers in comparison to Conn pro horns, but the theories don't always work.
-> European stencils generally use the same charts as the horns they were stenciled from.
-> I can kinda-sorta figure serial number charts for Dolnet and Hohner, as the former had an M70 model introduced in 1970 and the latter had an anniversary model stamped with the date.
If any of the links "die", I'd recommend checking the Internet Wayback Machine at http://www.archive.org.
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06-13-2011: I'm slowly fixing some of the dead links, but I've got the SML and HN White serial number charts back up.
12-18-2011: Found some information on F. Besson. Looks like they had a single serial number system for all instruments.
05-21-2012: I was looking through some of my old stuff and found a "handlist" for Boosey, Distin and Hawkes instruments. It's the attached PDF. If you're enterprising, you could make a serial number chart.
08-12-2012: Weltklang serial number chart (Excel format).
09-10-2012: Some Ida Maria Grassi serial numberage.
06-06-2012: I created a provisional Dolnet serial number chart several years ago and then lost it. It's been found:
Années Numéros de série
1935 ...............Series I..................1
1940 ...............Series II..............1200
1950 ...............Bel Air ...............34000
1952 ..............< Imperial >.........40000
1953 ...............Bel Air ..............45000
1970 => 1980....M70 ...............80000 =>100000
1980 => 1984 ...Universal............?????
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2015-04-28: I've attached a couple more Boosey and Hawkes documents. These also have serial numbers for a fairly large variety of makes and models.
=======
Added July 9, 2014:
I wanted to add this because I keep forgetting to mention this and I get a lot of e-mails about it.
Serial number charts are a really bad way of determining what model horn you have. As an easy example, if you look at a serial number chart and it says the serial number is correct for a Selmer Mark VI, but the horn is stamped something completely different, like, "Selmer New York," then you don't have a Mark VI. This can be confusing when the maker doesn't bother giving a name to the model horn you have, like SML. In the case of SML, if you have a horn that has, "Gold Medal" stamped on the bell and the serial number chart I wrote says it's a "Rev. D," the chart is wrong.
Also note that sometimes manufacturers release one pitch of a certain horn earlier than other pitches. As an example, I'm doing some Yanagisawa saxophone research. Sometimes Yanagisawa released the alto model first, sometimes a tenor or a soprano. If the serial number chart says that the T-4 was introduced in 1965 (making it up) and you have a horn stamped "T-4" that has a 1963 serial number, it's still a T-4.
Finally, some manufacturers released a few "prototype" models before the model became standardized. This was often the case with Selmer saxophones, for example. So, if you have a horn that's labeled, "Mark VII," and looks like it's a Mark VII, it's probably a Mark VII, regardless of what the serial number is.
(Before I get overly flamed, I know people will argue that, say, their Mark VII is really a Mark VI, even though it's stamped "Mark VII," but it has a Mark VI serial number. You can go ahead and argue that point. You could be right.)
======
-> Note that Yamaha serial numbers don't seem to correspond to anything, in particular.
-> American-made stencils do not have extant serial number charts. There are some theories about Pan American serial numbers in comparison to Conn pro horns, but the theories don't always work.
-> European stencils generally use the same charts as the horns they were stenciled from.
-> I can kinda-sorta figure serial number charts for Dolnet and Hohner, as the former had an M70 model introduced in 1970 and the latter had an anniversary model stamped with the date.
If any of the links "die", I'd recommend checking the Internet Wayback Machine at http://www.archive.org.
=======
06-13-2011: I'm slowly fixing some of the dead links, but I've got the SML and HN White serial number charts back up.
12-18-2011: Found some information on F. Besson. Looks like they had a single serial number system for all instruments.
05-21-2012: I was looking through some of my old stuff and found a "handlist" for Boosey, Distin and Hawkes instruments. It's the attached PDF. If you're enterprising, you could make a serial number chart.
08-12-2012: Weltklang serial number chart (Excel format).
09-10-2012: Some Ida Maria Grassi serial numberage.
06-06-2012: I created a provisional Dolnet serial number chart several years ago and then lost it. It's been found:
Années Numéros de série
1935 ...............Series I..................1
1940 ...............Series II..............1200
1950 ...............Bel Air ...............34000
1952 ..............< Imperial >.........40000
1953 ...............Bel Air ..............45000
1970 => 1980....M70 ...............80000 =>100000
1980 => 1984 ...Universal............?????
=======
2015-04-28: I've attached a couple more Boosey and Hawkes documents. These also have serial numbers for a fairly large variety of makes and models.
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