How Old Is My Piano?

You may be curious about the age of your piano or you may need the manufactured year of your piano for an appraisal.  The following manufacturers have serial number and date information available online ... FREE!  Just click on the brand name and a new window will open with their site; but do not forget to come back to our web site!

Acrosonic (by Baldwin)	Hamilton (by Baldwin)	Sargent (by Baldwin)
Baldwin	Howard (by Baldwin)	Schroeder (by Baldwin)
Bechstein	Ibach	Steinway
Bentley	Kemble	Story & Clark
Chickering (by Baldwin)	Knabe	Valley Gem (by Baldwin)
D.H. Baldwin	Kremlin (by Baldwin)	Welmer (by Baldwin)
Ellington (by Baldwin)	Manuello (by Baldwin)	Winton (by Baldwin)
Everett (by Yamaha)	Mason & Hamlin	Wurlitzer (by Baldwin)
Franke (by Baldwin)	Monarch (by Baldwin)	Yamaha
Gulbransen	St Regis (by Baldwin)

To help you research your own piano information, you may purchase Pierce Piano Atlas. Often referred to as the "Bible of the Piano business," the 1996 edition was authoritatively expanded and updated to include names providing ready reference to serial numbers, dates of manufacture, factory locations, and other pertinent information.

You can find the manufacturer's name inside on the cast iron plate, usually. It may or may not be the same as what you read on the key cover.  All pianos have serial numbers located somewhere on it. Good Luck! Manufacturers are not consistent with the placement location of serial numbers; but it can be found if not illegally defaced. Other numbers that you may locate may be plate patent numbers/dates, or case numbers, sometimes confused for serial numbers.  For help in locating the serial number of your piano, you may locate the serial number (4-8 digits, including letters) and sometimes the piano model number in this manner.

Vertical Piano Serial Numbers (includes spinets, consoles, studios and uprights) can often be found:

• Under the lid, on the cast iron plate or on the pin block seen through an opening of the cast iron plate, near the tuning pins; or, inside on the left side of the case; or atop of the pin block area under the lid, usually on the left; or, on the Action (key mechanism), or
• The serial numbers may be on the backside of the piano near the top area.

Grand Piano Serial Numbers (includes all sizes of grands) may be challenging to find; but we assure you, there is one somewhere on that piano of yours, just look:

• Underside of the music desk/rack;
• On center of soundboard (maybe in decal);
• On left inside case rim;
• On the cast iron plate (near right side);
• Near tuning pins, possibly on the plate;
• On underside of key bed. You will need a flashlight to look up and under the piano; maybe, you will find it on the lyre.
• In addition, a technician may most likely find it on other areas of the piano, too.

Please note that there have been literally thousands of manufacturers over the years. The name on the front of the piano is often times not the name of the actual manufacturer. The name on the cast iron plate is the manufacturer's name. Sometimes, music dealers contract manufacturers to make a piano especially for them, with the dealer's name found on the front of the key cover. Be sure to include any detail of this type of piano that may give us a hint of the data.

If you would like Olde Towne Piano Shop to determine the age of your piano, please contact us. We will need the piano manufacturer or brand name, the type of piano (e.g., grand or upright), the serial number, the model number, and the physical dimensions of the piano (i.e., length for grand or height for upright). Because of the tremendous demand for information about the age and manufacturers of the 12,000+ brands of pianos, we charge a non-refundable research fee of $25.00 for this service.  This fee is to compensate for the time we spend researching this information.  We often have to spend more time on pianos that have no information available because we need to check more resources to be sure we did not miss anything. However, we cannot guarantee that information is still available for all pianos.

It is not possible to determine what your piano is worth unless we have a "hands-on" evaluation.  For information on determining the value of your piano, please click What Is My Piano Worth.