How old is my piano?

What can a serial number tell you?

A serial number identifies an individual instrument within a numbering sequence. Combined with the correct brand or manufacturing series, it can help date the instrument.

A piano may carry several numbers. A number on the case, action or keyboard is not necessarily the production number of the complete instrument. Letters and leading zeros are part of the marking too.

Where can I find the serial number on my upright or grand piano?

Upright: Under the top lid – on the inner sides of the case or their top edges; also on the iron frame or the wooden soundboard behind the strings.

Grand: Under the lid – on the iron frame, for example near the tuning pins or beneath the music desk; also on the wooden soundboard beneath the strings.

What if some digits are unreadable?

Keep readable characters in their original order and mark any unreadable positions. One missing digit is different from an unknown section at the beginning or end of a number.

Do not fill a missing digit with a guess. A partly readable number may match several possible periods; other features can then help narrow the result.

Can a piano be dated without its serial number?

A complete brand name, a place name or an earlier company name can sometimes help. Founding dates, moves and the end of production may provide context. The company’s founding year is not the manufacturing year of an individual piano.

The action or keyboard may offer additional clues. These components have their own makers and sometimes their own numbering sequences. A component’s date is a clue, not automatically the completion year of the whole instrument.

Which dates can be misleading?

Dates beside medals or awards refer first to the award. They are not direct evidence of the instrument’s manufacturing year.

Handwritten entries may come from manufacture, but they may also record later tuning or repairs. What a marking describes and where it appears both matter.

Why might the result be a period rather than a single year?

Numbers may have been assigned while an instrument was being made. Completion and sale therefore need not fall in the same year. For some firms, only individual dated numbers are known.

A period makes that uncertainty clear. The brand, number and other features should support the same dating.

Not every numbering sequence is chronological. When the information conflicts, a reliable period may not be possible.