Dec 2, 2010 - When Conn moved to Abilene, Texas they did make horns with six digit serial numbers that drastically overlap the Elkhart numbers.

A few weeks ago, someone in this newsgroup was asking how to interpret Conn serial numbers. I had saved the following items from the horn discusssion list a few months ago and am posting them now. They seem to tell everything you need to know. Peter Macdonald ------- From Thu Jun 15 07: Date: Tue, 04 Oct 94 17:13:21 EDT From: To: Subject: Re: Conn 8D Vintage Rick Lehner wrote, in regards to his 8D: 'It definitely does not have any letters in the serial number.Anyone know approximately how old and where it was made?' I was trying to help a friend of mine figure out a serial number on his 8D, too. His doesn't have the letters in front either, & I know it is an older horn.

Mine is a '79. The repairman who works on my middle school instruments told me how to find out what MY serial number meant, so I'll relate that. Here goes (by the way, this is a fabricated number as an example, so if it's your horn, it's only a coincidence!): GE920072 First letter at front = the decade (G is the 1970s) Second letter at front = the month (E is May--5th letter, 5th month) First single digit = year (9 is 1979) Next single digit = 'French horn group' Last four digits = the number of the horn that was built that month (0072 would be the 72nd horn built) Hope this helps somewhat, and if you want me to ask the repairman about the older numbers, let me know!

Constance Sanders Bellevue, KY USA From Thu Jun 15 07: Date: 5 Oct 1994 09:35:13 -0600 From: 'PEASE, Paul' To: IHS DISCUSSION GROUP Subject: CONN Serial Numbers For those of you who did not get an earlier (June 1994) message, I have copied a list of CONN serial numbers and approximate dates of manufacture. To my knowledge, for 1940 vintage CONN horns you will find the serial number on the thumb valve casing, not under the valve levers as on more recent horns from CONN. Here's the list. CONN SERIAL NUMBERS A GUIDE FOR DETERMINING THE APPROXIMATE AGE OF CONN BRASS INSTRUMENTS SERIAL DATE SERIAL DATE NUMBER NUMBER 1 1876 1 700 1877 1 1700 1878 1 3000 1879 1 5000 1880 1 6000 1881 1 7000 1882 1 8000 1883 1 9000 1884 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 4 1 4 1 5 5 Serial numbers for reed instruments differed from the brass prior to 1957.

Brass and Reed Instruments as of 1957 6 9 7 C 7 C 8 E 8 R No information available 1967 to March 1974. After March 1974, use the code system below. CODE SYSTEM First character (letter) indicates decade, 'G' for 1970's, 'H' for 1980's. Second character (letter) indicates month of year, 'A' for January, 'B' for February, etc. Third character (number) indicates year of decade reading directly. Fourth character (number) indicates instrument group as follows: 1- Cornet 2-Trumpet 3-Alto 4-French Horn 5-Mellophone 6-Valve Trombone 7-Slide Trombone 8-Baritone-Euphonium 9-Tuba 0-Sousaphone The remaining four numbers constitute the serial number on a monthly basis.

Source: Allied Supply Corporation, Catalog No. Drevitalize 2 42 portable. PO Box 288, Elkhorn, WI 53121 From Thu Jun 15 07: Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 13:51:31 -0700 (PDT) From: 'David S. Crane' To: International Horn Society EDG Subject: Re 8 D's Re Rick Lehner trying to find out the age of his 8 D. The Elkhart ones had Elkhart, Ind.

On the bell, and the non lettered ones have a fancier treatment on the end of the slide receivers. I believe the lettered Elkkhart horns and the Texas horns slide receiver ends are rolled, and the older ones are soldered on and are sort of like a double ring.

Hope this helps. David Crane Horn instructor Willamette University Salem, OR 97302 Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.french-horn Subject: Conn Serial Numbers Summary: Expires: Sender: Followup-To: Distribution: Organization: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Keywords: Cc: A few weeks ago, someone was asking for information on Conn serial numbers. This topic was considered by the horn discussion group last October; I have saved the relevant postings and can forward them to anyone who wants to see them. The information should give the date and factory for any Conn. Helen Read 19/6/1995, 0:00 น.