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I have a Conn Euphonium with a serial number of M60608 and all of the valves have that matching serial number, but the 3rd valve also has the serial number L81114 (2 serial numbers are factory-stamped on the piston.) M60608 is a 1969 number and L81114 is a 1968 number. Does any one have any explanation to this?

Also I am putting this on eBay and I will put a link to it as soon as I list it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0152980286

Sounds like the 3rd valve was intended to be a 1st valve, since it was stamped. Interchangability rocks!

It could have been done at the factory, but that's doubtful...the big changes weren't underway yet at that time, but who knows? Still, I'd bet on a factory screwup rather than a later replacement.

I've seen all sorts of serial number issues. Sometimes the 4th piston casing will have a serial number different from the rest of the horn... such is the case with my double-belled Conn euphonium. The #2 casing has one serial number and the 'shift' casing has a different number. Serial numbers that are stamped onto the 2nd valve casing are obviously done waaaay ahead in the process of building the valve section because the stamping process would cause problems if the valve section was finished. In many cases, the 4th valve is the same at the 2nd valve and perhaps all 2nd valve casings were stamped by some manufacturers even before they are assembled into a valve block. Who knows???!!

Some manufacturers put matching serial numbers on their pistons... and some did not. Smaller instruments like trumpets rarely had serial numbers on the pistons.

I've seen many cases of trombone slides and bell-sections where serial numbers don't match.

I replace lots of Mirafone bells with generic bells. The only serial number on a Mirafone (that I know of) is engraved on the bell. When I change the bell, the serial number is obvously gone. I usually engrave it either on the outside of the 2nd rotor housing or on the paddle bar. Either of these parts can be replaced at a later date... making the horn without a serial number.

Most of the horns I work over and eventually sell come out of school systems or music stores. Many do not have the original parts. it's not that unusual for me to see a three-piston horn with three different serial numbers on the pistons. It just isn't the kind of thing that bothers me as long as a serial number appears somewhere on the outside of the horn. If a horn has no serial number, I will sometimes create one by using a date code. That'll freak someone out 50 years from now!

I agree with Dan. I've seen much the same thing over the years, and I'm not even a repair person.

I've talked with brass builders that said the instruments came down the line as a "kit" where they worked- with the serial numbers already assigned. And, as Dan says, to do so later in the build would ruin the valves, anyway.

So what if a valve block got ruined, or someone dropped (gasp) a piston? What would you do? Pick up a new one and replace it, not rework or replace (which wastes lots of TIME), as long as it was possible.

You assign numbers to a pile of parts at the beginning of instrument creation. Obviously they do a pretty good job during assembly, because this situation (multiple serial numbers) is by far the exception, not the norm!