King Serial Numbers

[bramnash]

My King 3B Concert has only a 4-digit serial number: 7154
I don't seem to be able to track down how old it is from this.
Any help and information will be most appreciated!

[BGuttman]

The 7154 is a part number. All King slides have one. There should be a 6 digit number that is the serial near the bell joint. Note that the 3B first appeared in 1955. King was using 6 digit serials long before that.

Sometimes a picture of the bell engraving can help the King fanatics on the Forum estimate the date.

[bramnash]

Seems unusual then. There are only the four digits 7154

[Kingfan]

Seems unusual then. There are only the four digits 7154

Where are those numbers located?

[flotrb]

I was informed, when trying to identify my Bach Soloist manufacture date with Conn-Selmer, that the 4-digit numbers are used to keep up with the parts to match to the instrument. My 4-digit numbers are on the outside slide.

[greenbean]

King 3B slides and bell sections get swapped around a lot because they are/were compatible over about 6 decades. If you have an older bell section and a newer slide it is possible to have a 3B with no serial number. The bell section engraving is very helpful in dating a bell section. You should post a photo. In fact, a photos of the slide (top and bottom of outer slide) and anything stamped on the inner slide hand grip area would be helpful in dating each component.

[trose02]

For those seeking info about King serial numbers, please see the following --->https://www.hnwhite.com/Serial%20Numbers.htm
(3/31/23 - updated url to reflect new page location)
- T.

[Paulyd]

First post. How accurate are the serial numbers on the hnwhite.com site?

[Taan]

The only number close to a serialnumber I can find on my (borrowed) 2103 /3B only has 5 digits
it's 80756 and it's near the screwjoint where you put the slide on.
It has an F valve and it has that orange lacquer. Any idea how I could put a build date to this instrument?
It should be at least 30 years old, knowing a bit of the history.
Could there be a hidden place for the serialnumber?
There are also some other shorter numbers on it, but I guess those are partnumbers.

The bell sais:
[Drawing of a crown]
King
2103
USA
3B

[greenbean]

King serial #s are pretty much always 6 digits. Is it possible there is a 6th digit at the end of that number that you missed? That would put your number (80756x) in the area of 1980 - which is consistent with the bell engraving.

[Taan]

thnx, maybe the engraving guy forgot the last number after his lunchbreak