Why are serial numbers given as 123xxx?

[jlb]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum. It says no questions are too stupid here, I hope it's true!

Can anybody explain why people selling second hand horns, or talking about their own, give the serial numbers as e.g. 123xxx, rather than giving the whole number as in 123456?

Why the mystery over the last digits?

The answer is probably obvious once you know it 🙂

John

 

[Saxlicker]

Hi JLB,
There are at least 2 reasons for this.

I don't know which is more common but,

1) There is unfortunately a market for fraudulent dealings with more valuable sax's in particular and trying to make ownership of such beasts appear authentic is easier if you have a genuine serial number to work from. Especially our beloved on ebay.

2) Owners simply don't wish to divulge the all the information (maybe for the reason above) yet by giving the first 3 digits and replacing the rest with the correct amount of X's usually gives the potential buyer all he needs to determine the approximate age of the sax from manufacturer serial number records. This is all important to some people for some horns.

 

[sandeha_lynch]

Yep, I'd go with that explanation. It's the same with cameras ... folks need to be assured of the age of the beast, but not to give away info that could be abused.

 

[mr_big]

Aha - interesting topic!

It leads me to the question, is there a resource anywhere that lists the approximate manufacturing dates for the serial numbers of the various makers?

I collect watches and it's the same deal with them too regarding dating and anti fake / fraud precautions.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Mr Big wrote:
It leads me to the question, is there a resource anywhere that lists the approximate manufacturing dates for the serial numbers of the various makers?

Just follow the saxophone info link above, then look for serial numbers, halfway down the left hand menu.

 

[philthd]

Mr Big wrote:
Aha - interesting topic!

It leads me to the question, is there a resource anywhere that lists the approximate manufacturing dates for the serial numbers of the various makers?

there many - some of which conflict - but how could i go against petes?

some manufacturers (notable yamaha) have non-consecutive serialing, however, so a number range tells you nothing

 

[jlb]

Thanks for the explanation, Saxlicker, but I'm not sure I get it. How could a serial number be abused?

Are you saying that if someone knows the serial number of my horn, they could make a fake invoice and pretend that they are the genuine owners, or what?

John

 

[Saxlicker]

JLB,
I have never been that close to fully understand how people abuse knowledge of genuine serial numbers....BUT

You made me sit and ponder and as a result I can think of one or two ways that would make legitimate ownership doubtful to anyone with a vested interest in establishing who something belongs to, be it insurance companies or who ever.

I have no interest in publishing those crooked thoughts though so if you can't get it out of your mind you'll have to think harder.