Проверить гитару по серийному номеру hohner
Between 1953 and 1971 Hцfner produced a series of guitars for the British
distributor Selmer Company. These models were often similar to the Hцfner
standard range but usually had small differences in detail.
The ‘Selmer’ guitars were given serial numbers, usually stamped on the
back of the headstock, or typed on a label that is visible in the F-hole.
Guitars distributed for Europe, the US and other countries did not have a serial number until 1976.
The Dutch distributor Van Wouw also used a serial number system which deviates from that of Selmer.
This can lead to confusion when a Van Wouw appears where Selmer guitars have been distributed.
Van Wouw serial numbers were stamped in the workshop on the top edge of the headstock. The list below is therefore not by definition the year of manufacture, the numbers were stamped after the instrument was imported.
Hendrik Van Wouw (Serial number top edge of headstock) |
Some Hцfner dealers placed their own label on the back of the head with numbers. These are not ‘Selmer’ serial numbers.
| Hцfner history in short |
Karl Hцfner was born in 1864 in Schцnbach, Bohemia, which was then part of Austria.
In 1887, after studying with Anton Schaller, he started his company as a luthier in Schцnbach. The high-quality instruments he made were in demand throughout Europe, as a result of which the company quickly grew.
In 1919 his two sons, Josef (1892-1994) and Walter (1904-1985), joined the company. In particular, exports expanded rapidly and the Hцfner brand achieved a worldwide reputation as a producer of high-quality stringed instruments.
In addition to violins, double basses and cellos, they also started producing guitars in the 1930s. The first models were steel strung with a curved top and bottom.
After World War II, the company first moved to Mцhrendorf in Bavaria in 1948. A more suitable location to rebuild the factory was found in nearby Bubenreuth. The foundation stone was laid on 20 October 1949 and the factory was opened at the end of 1950.
The company quickly recaptured the world market and the range of guitars was expanded. Models like President, Committee and of course the Beatle Bass (500/1) made Hцfner famous. All models were designed and developed by Walter.
The demand for Hцfner guitars increased due to the rise of Rock ‘n Roll. The company had to expand considerably and the guitars
became Hцfner’s most important export product.
Walter and Karl Hцfner
built in Hagenau.
Due to the increasing competition from American guitar manufacturers, Hцfner’s market share slumped. As a result, the English distributor Selmer had to close its business.
Gerhilde Hцfner (daughter of Walter) ran the company together with her husband Christian Benker in the seventies to nineties.
Partly as competition from Japan and China increased, it became difficult for Hцfner to remain independent.
Therefore, on January 1, 1994 Hцfner was sold to the British company Boosey & Hawkes.
The bow manufacturer Roderich Paesold (also based in Bubenreuth) was also owned by Boosey & Hawkes. Paesold was merged with Hцfner in 1995 and placed in their «Instrument Division». But both companies remained independent in terms of production and sales.
In 1997 Hцfner moved from Bubenreuth to their second factory in Haguenau. They had more modern production facilities, and a new building was added.
In 2003, «Instrument Division» was sold to the British investment consortium «The Music Group» (TMG). At the end of 2004, Hцfner (as part of «Instrument Division») was sold to Klaus Schцller and his wife Ulrike Schrimpff.
Klaus has worked at Hцfner since 1989 and now became General Manager and Ulrike Chief Financial Officer.
A branch in Beijing was opened in 2009 which is one hundred percent owned by Hцfner. As one of the few companies, the Chinese government granted Hцfner an export license.
The instruments produced in Beijing are of equivalent quality to those produced in Germany. The quality level remains high due to the constant exchange of personnel between China and Germany.
| Selmer serial nummers The tables below with Selmer serial numbers are incomplete and not accurate. The series are based on delivery documents that have been preserved. These documents may have been inaccurate. |
You can consult the tables(*) to determine the production date of a Hцfner guitar, but you also have to take other things into consideration, such as the pick-ups and pot meters.
Also on these elements are manufacturing data that can lead you approximately to the production date of the guitar.
As you can see in the tables, there are many overlaps (duplicates) of the serial numbers. The different models can therefore carry the same serial number.
Archtops and Semi Acoustic Guitars
| Year | Committee | Committee Electric | Committee Thinline | Ambassador |
| 1958 | 2564 — 2950 | |||
| 1959 | 2564 — 3270 | |||
| 1960 | 3271 — 3677 | 1100 — 1175 | ||
| 1961 | 3721 — 3744 | 1182 — 1257 | 1176 -1237 | |
| 1962 | 3745 — 3792 | 1258 — 1326 | 1238 — 1305 | |
| 1963 | 3793 — 3954 | 1327 | 1355 — 1411 | |
| 1964 | 3965 — 4108 | 1420 — 1517 | ||
| 1965 | 4109 — 4177 | 1617 | 1518 — 1653 | 50 — 177 |
| 1966 | 4178 — 4189 | 178 — 273 | ||
| 1967 | 4190 — 4247 | 274-360 | ||
| 1968 | 4248 — 4258 | |||
| 1969 | 4259 — 4264 |
| Year | President | President Thinline | President 66 | President 66 Thinline |
| 1958 | 3480 — 5100 | ||
| 1959 | 5101 — 6319 | ||
| 1960 | 6320 — 7967 | 600 — 681 | |
| 1961 | 7968 — 8002 | ||
| 1962 | 8003 — 8125 | 682-787 | |
| 1963 | 8126 — 8308 | 788-962 | |
| 1964 | 8355 — 8727 | 963 — 1059 | |
| 1965 | 8728 — 8976 | 1135 | 1 — 143 |
| 1966 | 8977 — 8986 | 144 — 273 | |
| 1967 | 8987 — 8996 | 1 — 124 | 274 — 360 |
| 1968 | 8997 — 8999 | 125 — 280 | |
| 1969 | 9000 — 9002 | ||
| 1970 | 9003 — 9026 | ||
| 1971 | 9027 |
| Year | Senator | Senator Thinline | Senator 66 | Senator 66 Thinline |
| 1958 | 4404 — 7800 | |||
| 1959 | 7801 — 9301 | |||
| 1960 | 9302 — 11400 | 1088 | ||
| 1961 | 11401 — 11702 | 1089 — 1227 | ||
| 1962 | 11703 — 12079 | 1228 — 1309 | ||
| 1963 | 12080 — 12680 | 1310 — 1404 | ||
| 1964 | 12726 — 13516 | |||
| 1965 | 13517 — 13674 | 100 — 194 | 1 — 90 | |
| 1966 | 13675 — 13768 | 1660 | 195 — 325 | 91 — 151 |
| 1967 | 326 — 405 | 152 — 189 | ||
| 1968 | 406 — 459 | 190 — 191 | ||
| 1969 | 460 — 468 | 192 | ||
| 1970 | 469 — 485 | |||
| 1971 | 486 — 569 | 193 |
| Year | Club 40 | Club 50 | Club 60 | Club 70 |
| 1958 | 255 — 420 | 479 — 650 | 1 — 180 |
| 1959 | 421 — 820 | 651 — 1158 | 181 — 588 |
| 1960 | 821 — 1534 | 1159 — 1779 | 589 — 1296 |
| 1961 | 1535 — 1674 | 1780 | 1297 — 1607 |
| 1962 | 1675 | 1608 | |
| 1967 | 1 — 147 | ||
| 1968 | 148 | ||
| 1969 | 149 — 154 |
| Year | Congress | Verithin | Verithin 66 | Violin Guitar 459 |
| 1958 | 5809 -7800 | ||
| 1959 | 7801 — 8800 | ||
| 1960 | 8801 — 9917 | — 350 | |
| 1961 | 9918 — 10958 | 351 — 699 | |
| 1962 | 10959 — 12278 | 700 — 1238 | |
| 1963 | 12279 — 13371 | 1239 — 2223 | |
| 1964 | 13422 — 14331 | 2260 — 3313 | |
| 1965 | 14332 — 14891 | 3314 | 1000 — 1190 |
| 1966 | 14892 — 15141 | 1191 — 1293 | 1 — 170 |
| 1967 | 15142 — 15366 | 1294 — 1388 | 171 — 200 |
| 1968 | 15367 — 15456 | 1389 — 1398 | |
| 1969 | 15457 — 15471 | 1399 — 1404 | |
| 1970 | 15472 — 15517 | 1405 — 1408 | |
| 1971 | 15518 — 15523 | 1409 — 1411 |
Acoustic Guitars
| Year | Vienna | Flamenco |
| 1958 | 468 — 700 | 4527 — 5100 |
| 1960 |  - 849 | — 5433 |
| 1961 | 850 — | 5434 — 5688 |
| 1962 | 981 — | 5689 — 6270 |
| 1963 | 1189 — 1556 | 6271 — 7074 |
| 1964 | 7111 — | |
| 1965 | 1763 — 2014 | 7567 — 7888 |
| 1966 | — 2289 | — 8338 |
| 1967 | — 2414 | — 8463 |
| 1968 | — 8511 | |
| 1969 | — 8556 | |
| 1970 | — 2424 | — 8571 |
| 1971 | — 8575 |
*) Information is obtained from authentic Hцfner documents.
Solid Body Guitars
| Year | Galaxie | Super (173) | Colorama I | Colorama II |
| 1961 | — 499 | — 891 | ||
| 1962 | 1154 — 1299 | 892 — 1700 | ||
| 1963 | — 3147 | 824 — 1156 | 1300 | 2154 — 2902 |
| 1964 | 3318 — 4437 | 1157 — 1348 | 944 — 963 | 2953 — 3638 |
| 1965 | 4438 — 4537 | 1349 | 964 — 979 | 3639 |
| 1966 | 4538 — 4637 | 980 — 1001 | ||
| 1967 | 4638 — 4737 | 1002 — 1012 | ||
| 1968 | 4738 — 4759 | |||
| 1969 | 4760 — 4858 | |||
| 1970 | 4859 |
| Year | Super Solid II | Super Solid III | V2 | V3 |
| 1961 | — 650 | — 1209 | |
| 1962 | 651 — 773 | 1210 — 1838 | |
| 1963 | 774 | 1839 | 2039 |
Bass Guitars
| Year | Committee Bass | President Bass | Senator Bass | Verithin Bass |
| 1959 | 1 — 199 | |||
| 1960 | 200 — 601 | |||
| 1961 | 602 — 643 | |||
| 1962 | 644 — 822 | |||
| 1963 | — 272 | — 168 | 823 — 947 | — 256 |
| 1964 | 281 — 321 | 179 — 430 | 968 — 1868 | 309 — 540 |
| 1965 | 322 — 353 | 431 — 514 | 1869 — 2058 | 541 — 658 |
| 1966 | 515 — 538 | 2059 — 2294 | 659 — 664 | |
| 1967 | 2295 — 2351 | 665 — 670 | ||
| 1968 | 2352 — 2375 | 671 — 672 | ||
| 1969 | 2376 — 2388 | 673 — 674 | ||
| 1970 | 2389 — 2397 | 675 — 679 | ||
| 1971 | 680 — 681 |
| Year | Artist Bass | Solid Bass | 500/1 | 500/2 |
| 1960 | — 1020 | ||
| 1962 | 329 — 1160 | 231 — 617 | 1021 |
| 1963 | 1161 — 1949 | 618 | — 311 |
| 1964 | 1950 — 2250 | 352 — 1830 | |
| 1965 | 2251 — 2275 | 1831 — 2511 | |
| 1966 | 2276 — 2301 | 2512 — 3064 | |
| 1967 | 2302 — 2306 | 3065 — 3170 | |
| 1968 | 2307 — 2309 | 3171 — 3263 | |
| 1969 | 2310 — 2311 | 3264 — 3347 | |
| 1970 | 2312 — 2313 | 3348 — 3429 | |
| 1971 | 3430 — 3463 |
| Year | Bass 6 500/10 |
| 1960 | 1 — 204 |
| 1961 | 205 |
1975 — 1984
| From | To | Serial numbers |
| 12-05-1975 | 19-09-1979 | 401600 — 403600 |
| 27-11-1979 | 08-10-1980 | 208624 — 210510 |
| 08-10-1980 | 19-05-1981 | 210511 — 211740 |
| 19-05-1981 | 14-10-1981 | 211741 — 212358 |
| 14-10-1981 | 23-03-1982 | 212359 — 213188 |
| 23-03-1982 | 17-12-1982 | 213189 — 214283 |
| 17-12-1982 | 05-03-1984 | 214284 — 215676 |
1986 — 1999
During this period, the Hofner instruments received a new six-digit serial number.
The first digit stands for the year of construction, the second and
third for the month, the fourth and fifth for the day of the month.
The last digit is the sequence number of the guitar that was made
this day.
This means that a serial number starting with eg 8 in 1988
or 1998 has been built.
Example: 805107
8 05 10 07 is the 7 th instrument built on 10 May , 198 8 or 199 8 .
2000 to present
In the year 2000 the first digit was replaced by a letter.
A=2000 B=2001 C=2002 D=2003 E=2004 F=2005 G=2006 H=2007
J=2008 K=2009 L=2010 M=2011 N=2012 P=2013 Q=2014 R=2015
S=2016 T=2017 U=2018. This system can therefore continue until 2023 (Z).
The letters I and O have been skipped to prevent confusion with
1 and 0.
Examle: M06085
M 06 08 5 is the 5 th instrument built on 8 June , 2011 .
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