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Pan American Brass Serial Numbers

This page contains a list of Pan American serial numbers for brass instruments. That includes cornets, trumpets, horns, trombones, euphoniums and basses. I have no idea whether Pan American saxophones go by this list. I am pretty sure this list is reasonably accurate, although it might be off be a year or two.

NOTE: I have come to believe that Conn bugles go by the same serial numbers as Pan American brass. Therefore, this list should also be valid for Conn bugles.

How this list came about
The 1938 Conn catalog contains a paragraph on valve repairs, the cost of which depended on the serial number of the instrument. The split for Conn cornets and trumpets was at serial 286000. For Pan American instruments, that split was at serial 80000. Therefore I have pegged Pan American serial number 80000 at 1932.

Between the 1930's and the 1950's there are three styles of braces on Pan American instruments. In the 1930's you have what I call the curved style braces. Then you have a brief period of double angled straight braces (such as on the Pan American 62B), followed by single angled straight braces. I maintain a list of serial numbers, models (when known) and brace styles. I have attempted to match the brace styles to known production periods of the various models. The tentative conclusion is that the curved brace style was used through 1939, and that 1940 saw the introduction of the double angled straight brace style. This was replaced in 1947 by the single angled straight brace style. I also have firm evidence from a kind contributor that serial 1922xx must be 1949. The serial number list you see here is based on this. The evidence so far indicates it is pretty close, but it might be off by a year or two.

A few remarks
First, there is some confusion about serial numbers starting with a "P" and either followed or not followed by a dash ("-"). Certainly on my own part! The easiest way to determine whether the "P" serial is a 1971 or a 1920's instrument is perhaps this: If there is a model name engraved on the leadpipe, most probably "Director", then it is a 1971 model. If it has "Pan American" engraved somewhere on the instrument, than it is most certainly NOT a 1971 instrument.