Reynolds Serial Numbers

July 2024 update

New research has come to my attention around the 1961-64 time period when RMC owned Reynolds. As was known, manufacturing of the Reynolds/RMC Medalist instruments was outsourced, almost certainly at the Blessing plant in Elkhart, Indiana. It now appears likely that the serial numbers on Reynolds/RMC Medalist instruments were also based on Blessing or Indiana Band Instrument sequences. As such, I've removed the relevant Medalist notes from the serial number tables below until I can confirm details and present a more accurate timeline.

Please note that Medalist instruments with serial numbers above 200000 are still included in the main Reynolds (1964-1979) sequence as documented below.

July 2023 update

I've made two changes to the production estimates for the first decade of manufacturing, 1936-1946:

First, I've aligned the earliest military serial numbers with known contracts awarded to Reynolds during WWII (1943-). While it's possible that there were earlier contracts, this has resulted in a more conservative estimate of the number of Reynolds horns produced in the earliest years (when production of the Ohio Band student horns would been the focus).
I've also pushed out the date of the vertical monogram engraving pattern to 1946 (based on a personal note received about the timing of the redesigned logo). It's now likely that the engraving pattern change coincided with Foster Reynolds leaving the company in spring 1946 and Scherl & Roth taking over operations.

Finally, a Contempora trumpet has been documented with SN 179xx (1949), making it the new "earliest known" Contempora instrument. There's been a slight ripple in the years immediately before/after to align the production dates.

Please note: Except for a fragment of late production data from 1964-1979 that was preserved in the Allied Band Supply catalog, I am not aware of any surviving official records for serial numbers of Reynolds band instruments. Due to the lack of these records, identifying an exact manufacture date for any given serial number is inherently inaccurate.

The serial numbers and estimated dates presented below are based on the visual observation of engraving patterns and design and trim details on hundreds of instruments that I've cross-referenced against catalog illustrations and descriptions and historical company information. While an exact date may never be able to be accurately verified for any given serial number, I believe that the general progression of these lists is defensible and represents Reynolds instruments through the company’s history.

Pick one of these two options

Reynolds

The primary Reynolds serial number sequence dates from 1936-1979 and includes all instruments with the following exceptions:

Any instrument marked "Made by Ohio Band Instrument Co." (Regent and Roth). Please see the "Regent, Roth" serial number list for these instruments.
All Roth model instruments (including those marked "made by F.A. Reynolds" or "made by Roth-Reynolds"). Please see the "Regent, Roth" serial number list for these instruments. All other model instruments marked "made by Roth-Reynolds" are included in this primary serial number table.
All Medalist instruments made between 1961 and 1964 (SNs below 200000). Per the July 2024 update above, the early Medalist serial numbers appear to be taken from other manufacturer sequences. These tables will be updated at a later point in time.

Cleveland (1936-1964)

Serial No.	Est. Date	Notes
1	1936	F.A. Reynolds Co. began factory operations in mid-1936. The early production lines were shared with Ohio Band Instrument Co. so I've estimated production at 500 instruments/year for initial operations.
500	1937
1000	1938
1500	1939
2000	1940
2500	1941
3000	1942
4000	1943	Reynolds was awarded military contracts to produce band instruments in 1943-45. Many instruments with SNs 4xxx-21xxx have the "U.S." military-contract bell engraving and/or are a documented wartime purchase.
5000	1944
6500	1945
8000	1946	Reynolds engraving pattern on trumpets, cornets and trombones begin to change to vertical "monogram" style; date of design change confirmed as early 1946. Earliest examples documented are SN 8393 (trumpet), SN 8500 (cornet), SN 9582 (trombone). F.A. Reynolds retired and the company becomes a division of Scherl & Roth in spring 1946. Production now estimated at 3000 instruments/year, as post-war focus shifts from Ohio Band to Roth and Reynolds.
11000	1947
14000	1948
17000	1949	The Contempora brand was introduced in May 1949 according to U.S. trademark applications—the earliest documented Contempora instruments are SN 17973 (trumpet) and SN 19054 (tuba).
20000	1950	Two physical design changes happened around the time of the Contempora introduction: (1) redesign of piston valve buttons and bottom caps (~SN 21000); and (2) redesign of brace ferrules on the trombone lines (~SN 22000).
23000	1951
26000	1952
29000	1953	Instruments start to be marked as "Made by Roth-Reynolds" instead of "Made by F.A. Reynolds". Production estimates increased to 4000 instruments/year.
33000	1954
37000	1955	Reynolds "Hi-Fi" cornet introduced c.1955 (39243 lowest serial number recorded).
41000	1956	Contempora trumpet SN 41902 purchased June 1956.
45000	1957	Allen Ostrander acquired "Philharmonic" Contempora bass trombone SN 45190 in early 1957; received one of three prototype "Stereophonic" Contempora bass trombones, SN 49479, in late 1957.
49000	1958	Chambers Model horn delivered Fall 1958; 52xxx lowest serial number recorded with standard production details (45214 has a Chambers bell with Pottag-style valve markings).
53000	1959	Argenta brand introduced 1959; 545xx lowest serial number recorded. "Hi-Fi" trumpet and trombone introduced.
57000	1960	1960 was the last year instruments were engraved as "Made by Roth-Reynolds". Subsequent RMC-era instruments were simply marked "Cleveland, Ohio".
61000	1961	Most instruments with serial numbers higher than 61000 bear the RMC shield, corresponding to the 1961-1964 period that Richards Music owned Reynolds.
65000	1962
70000	1963
75000	196x
80000	1964	Serial numbers after 79000 may have been made in Abilene or Fullerton with Cleveland-made parts.
85000	1964	SN 85459 last known Reynolds serial number before sequence was reset to 200000.

Abilene, Texas; Fullerton, Calif. (1964-1979)

Serial No.	Date	Notes
200000	Nov. 1964	Serial numbers for Reynolds instruments were reset in 1964 after the company moved operations from Cleveland to Abilene, Texas and Fullerton, Calif. The new sequence started with 200,000 and was used for all instruments until 1977.
210000	Nov. 1965
220000	Oct. 1966
230000	Jul. 1967
235000	May 1968
250000	Nov. 1969	In 1970, all Reynolds instruments are produced in Fullerton and are marked with "Made in USA". Instruments with very high serial numbers (600,000+) likely have Olds serial numbers and are not accounted for in this table.
260000	Apr. 1971
270000	Aug. 1972
280000	Oct. 1973
290000	Jun. 1974
300000	Sep. 1975
310000	Aug. 1976	SN 314587 (Oct. 1977)
A00001	Oct. 1977	In October 1977, Reynolds and Olds used a joint serial number sequence that started with the letter "A". Fewer than 50,000 instruments were made before the company ceased operations in July 1979.
A05000	Dec. 1977	A05266 (Dec. 1977); A06741 (Jan. 1978)
A10000	Early 1978	A10066 (Jan); A12537 (Feb); A16496 (Apr); A18163 (May).
A20000	Mid 1978	A20876 (Jun); A24470 (Jul); A24706 (Aug); A28375 (Sep).
A30000	Late 1978	A31565 (Oct); A34616 (Nov); A37470 (Dec)
A40000	Early 1979	A40550 (Jan); Production ceased July 1979.

Regent, Roth

Instrument lines that were originally made by the Ohio Band Instrument Company used a different serial number sequence than those produced by F.A. Reynolds. This includes:

Any instrument marked "Made by Ohio Band Instrument Co." (Regent and Roth).
All Roth model instruments (including those marked "made by F.A. Reynolds" or "made by Roth-Reynolds"). All other model instruments marked "made by Roth-Reynolds" are included in the primary Reynolds serial number table.

Serial No.	Date	Notes
1	1936	Production estimated at 3750 instruments/year for 1936-52.
7500	1938
15000	1940
22500	1942	SN 22466 first recorded Roth instrument (cornet).
30000	1944
37500	1946
45000	1948	Roth “Tone Tempered” produced with nickel-silver bell flare; SNs 45xxx-53xxx.
52500	1950	SN 54155 last recorded "Regent" model horn (with exception of silver clarinet, which was produced well into the 1950s) SN 55696 last recorded "Roth" horn made by Ohio Band Roth SNs 55xxx-60xxx are branded “Made by F.A. Reynolds”.
60000	1952	c.1953 Roth models begin to be marked with "Made by Roth-Reynolds". Please note that this serial number sequence applies to the Roth model line and NOT to other instruments marked Roth-Reynolds that were made between 1953-1961. See the primary Reynolds serial number table for other Roth-Reynolds instruments.
70000	Mid-1950s
80000	1959	SN 79xxx trumpet corresponds to 1959 Roth-Reynolds catalog illustration, not 1958 catalog.
90000	1960	SN 89695 with October 1959 warranty card.
100000	1961	SN 98xxx last known "Roth" brand horn.

FAQs

Where do I find the serial number on my instrument?

Reynolds serial numbers are typically found in the following locations:

Piston valve instruments (trumpets, cornets, baritones, tuba, etc.)

The serial number is stamped on the 2nd-valve casing. Earlier instruments (pre-1965) are stamped horizontally; later instruments may be stamped vertically along the valve length.

Trombones

The serial number is located on both the slide handpiece and the bell section, both near where the two pieces join together.

French horns (and other rotary valve instruments)

The serial number is located on the 2nd-valve casing, typically near the valve arm assembly.

My serial number is much higher than what's listed?

In 1970, manufacturing was consolidated at F.E. Olds in Fullerton, Calif. after CMI sold the Abilene (Texas) plant to Conn. The F.E. Olds and F.A. Reynolds lines began to merge and instruments for both came off the same production lines. There are many examples of these later Reynolds instruments with F.E. Olds serial numbers, e.g. higher than 600000. There are number of Olds serial number charts available; see this one for example.

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