Reynolds Serial Numbers

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.

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

Any instrument marked "Made by Ohio Band Instrument Co." (includes Regent, Roth, Paramount, etc.)
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 serial number table.
All Medalist instruments made between 1961 and 1964 (SNs below 200000).

For these exceptions, please see the "Ohio Band / Roth" serial number list.

Cleveland (1936-1964)

Serial No.	Est. Date	Notes
1	1936	F.A. Reynolds Co. begins factory operations in mid-1936.
500	1937
1000	1938
2000	1939
3000	1940
4000	1941	Many instruments with SNs 4xxx-21xxx have the "U.S." military-contract bell engraving and/or are a documented wartime purchase.
5000	1942
6000	1943
7000	1944
8000	1945	Reynolds engraving pattern on trumpets, cornets and trombones begin to change to vertical "monogram" style; date of design change confirmed as shortly after WW2 ended. Earliest examples documented are SN 8393 (trumpet), SN 8500 (cornet), SN 9582 (trombone).
9000	1946	F.A. Reynolds Co. 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.
12000	1947
15000	1948
18000	1949	The Contempora brand was introduced in May 1949 according to U.S. trademark applications—the earliest documented Contempora instruments are SN 19054 (tuba), SN 21025 (trumpet), SN 24063 (cornet). Two physical design changes happened around the time of the Contempora introduction: (1) redesign of trumpet/cornet valve buttons and bottom caps; and (2) redesign of brace ferrules on the trombone lines.
21000	1950
24000	1951
27000	1952
30000	1953	Instruments start to be marked as "Made by Roth-Reynolds" instead of "Made by F.A. Reynolds".
33500	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.
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)

The serial numbers and dates list below are reproduced from production data published in an Allied Band Supply catalog. This is the only known surviving serial number data from Reynolds.

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.

Ohio Band / Roth

Instruments that were originally made under the Ohio Band Instrument Company name used a different serial number sequence than those produced by F.A. Reynolds. Initially this included the Regent models and later the Roth line. This separate sequence was maintained for the Roth model line after Scherl & Roth took over Reynolds operations in 1946 and reached just over 95,000 horns made by 1961.

When RMC-Reynolds introduced the Medalist line in 1961, they either continued using this secondary serial number sequence, adding another 50,000 horns before the company bankrupted and was sold in 1964, or used a new sequence from EK Blessing, who made many of the instruments. There is some crossover in the serial numbers of late Roth models and early Medalist production, presumably as Reynolds used up existing inventory of Roth production.

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	Begin use of "Roth-Reynolds" name. 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 1952-1961. 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. SN 98xxx last known "Roth" brand horn.
95000	1961	Medalist instruments were manufactured for RMC/Reynolds by EK Blessing (Elkhart, IN). Early Medalist SNs range from 96897-137359. Medalist serial numbers were reset at 200000 and sequenced with the rest of Reynolds' instruments after the manufacturing moves to Abilene and Fullerton in 1964.
110000	1962
125000	1963
140000	1963-64

FAQs

The purpose of this website is to preserve the history of the F. A. Reynolds Company and the distinctive qualities of its brass instruments. Contempora Corner and contemporacorner.com are not related or associated in any way to the former or current F.A. Reynolds Company.

Reynolds Serial Numbers

Cleveland (1936-1964)

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

Where do I find the serial number on my instrument?

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