HOFNER GUITAR PROJECT - PART 7: 

DATING HOFNERS

 

Part 7 Dating Hofners.

As stated in Part 4, there are numerous guitars about containing serial numbers that predate those prior to 1958 which are still available in Hofner’s own records. The only satisfactory way to establish the year of production during this early period is by an internal examination as described in Part 4. This can be a very rewarding exercise as not only the year of production can be found but also the actual day and month.

Detailed below are some serial number and corresponding dates as extracted from my own guitars.

 

Model

Serial Number

Body Date

     

Committee

2129

31/08/54

Committee

2536

31/10/57

Committee

3745

20/03/61

Committee

3932

12/08/63*

Committee

3950

25/06/63*

     

President

2277

24/09/55

President

5549

18/03/59

President

7293

22/03/60

 

* It can be seen from the Committee numbers, anomalies occur even in the simple task of co-ordinating serial numbers and dates.

 

In the following tables I have used a little initiative to arrive at the probable serial numbers that are shown against the years before 1958. These are relatively accurate but would have to be verified by physical inspection.

 

 

Model

First Serial Number

Last Serial Number

Year

Remarks

 

 

 

 

 

Committee

2000

2141

1954

 

 

2142

2282

1955

Pre truss-rod models

 

2283

2325

1956

 

 

2326

2564

1957

 

 

2565

2950

1958

 

 

2951

3313

1959

 

 

3314

3677

1960

Truss Rods Introduced

 

3678

3745

1961

 

 

3746

3793

1962

 

 

3794

3954

1963

Redesigned headstock

 

3965

4109

1964

 

 

4110

4177

1965

 

 

4178

4189

1966

 

 

4190

4247

1967

 

 

4248

4258

1968

 

 

4259

4264

1969

 

 

 

 

 

 

Committee Thinline

1000

1175

1960

Truss Rods Introduced

 

1176

1275

1961

 

 

1276

1325

1962

 

 

1326

1485

1963

Redesigned headstock

 

1486

1525

1964

 

 

1526

1653

1965

 

 

 

 

 

 

President

1500

1874

1953

Pre truss-rod models

 

1875

2180

1954

 

 

2181

2490

1955

 

 

2491

2985

1956

 

 

2986

3480

1957

 

 

3481

5100

1958

 

 

5101

6533

1959

 

 

6534

7967

1960

Truss Rods Introduced

 

7968

8047

1961

 

 

8048

8126

1962

 

 

8127

8309

1963

 

 

8355

8728

1964

 

 

8729

8976

1965

 

 

8977

8982

1966

 

 

8932

8988

1967

 

 

8989

8995

1968

 

 

8996

9002

1969

 

 

9003

9015

1970

 

 

9016

9029

1971

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Thinline

1

681

1960

Truss Rods Introduced

 

None Listed

None Listed

1961

 

 

682

822

1962

 

 

823

962

1963

 

 

963

1134

1964

 

 

1135

????

1965

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senator

1000

1040

1953

Pre-Truss Rod Model

 

1041

1087

1954

 

 

1088

1375

1955

 

 

1376

3738

1956

 

 

3739

4403

1957

 

 

4404

7800

1958

 

 

7801

9801

1959

 

 

9802

11400

1960

Truss Rods Introduced

 

11401

11702

1961

 

 

11703

12079

1962

 

 

12080

12680

1963

 

 

12726

13516

1964

 

 

13517

13674

1965

 

 

13675

13768

1966

 

 

13769+

 

1967

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senator Thinline

1

375

1958

 

 

376

845

1959

 

 

846

1088

1960

Truss Rods Introduced

 

1089

1227

1961

 

 

1228

1316

1962

 

 

1317

1404

1963

 

 

1405

1533

1964

 

 

1534

1660

1965

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congress

2000

2850

1955

Pre-Truss Rod Models

 

2851

4717

1956

 

 

4718

5808

1957

 

 

5809

7800

1958

 

 

7801

8859

1959

 

 

8860

9917

1960

Truss Rods Introduced

 

9918

10958

1961

 

 

10959

12278

1962

 

 

12279

13371

1963

 

 

13922

14321

1964

 

 

14322

14891

1965

 

 

14892

15141

1966

 

 

15142

15366

1967

 

 

15367

15456

1968

 

 

15457

15471

1969

 

 

15472

15517

1970

 

 

15518

15523

1971

 

 

 

 

 

 

Club 40

Pre

254

1957

Pre-Truss Rod Models

 

255

420

1958

 

 

421

921

1959

 

 

922

1534

1960

Truss Rods Introduced

 

1535

1674

1961

 

 

1675

Onwards

1962

 

 

 

 

 

 

Club 50

Pre

478

1957

Pre-Truss Rod Models

 

479

650

1958

 

 

651

1151

1959

 

 

1152

1782

1960

Truss Rods Introduced

 

1781

Onwards

1961

 

 

 

 

 

 

Club 60

1

180

1958

Pre-Truss Rod Models

 

181

681

1959

 

 

682

1296

1960

Truss Rods Introduced

 

1297

1607

1961

 

 

1608

Onwards

1962

 

 

 

 

 

 

Club 70

-

-

-

Footnote

 

 

 

 

 

Verithin

1

350

1960

Truss Rods Introduced

 

351

699

1961

 

 

700

1238

1962

 

 

1239

2223

1963

 

 

2260

3313

1964

 

 

3314

Onwards

1965

 

 

 

 

 

 

Verithin Florentine Deluxe

1000

1190

1965

 

 

1191

1293

1966

 

 

1294

1388

1967

 

 

1389

1403

1968

 

 

1404

1408

69/70

 

 

1407

1411

1971

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ambassador

50

177

1965

 

 

178

443

1966

 

 

444

468

1967

 

 

469

480

1968

 

 

 


 

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© Ramsay McKinnon 2006.