How to determine a singer sewing machine's date by the serial number

Written by usha dadighat
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How to determine a singer sewing machine's date by the serial number
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Singer began manufacturing sewing machines in 1851 when Isaac Singer founded the company. Two years later, it became the largest sewing machine manufacturer in the world. Singer has issued each production run of sewing machines a serial number. Singer has maintained lists where possible of when and where they produced each batch of sewing machines with a given serial number. In some cases, Singer even has the records of how many sewing machines have a certain serial number.

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    Identification By Serial Number

  1. 1

    Find the serial number on the Singer sewing machine. You can usually find this on the back of the machine or underneath the machine.

  2. 2

    Write down the serial number and note if it has a single letter prefix, a double letter prefix or no letter prefix.

  3. 3

    For a double letter prefix, consult Singer's list of two letter prefix serial numbers. The double letters will tell you where the sewing machine was manufactured and the entire serial number will tell you the date. Machines with two letter prefixes were made from 1924 through the 1960s.

  4. 4

    If the machine has only a single letter prefix, check Singer's list of single letter prefix serial numbers. These machines are slightly older than the double letter prefix models, with manufacture dates ranging from 1900 to 1935.

  5. 5

    If the serial number does not have a letter prefix, look up Singer's list of no letter prefix serial numbers. These are some of the oldest sewing machines for which Singer has records, with issue years ranging from 1871 to 1899. Singer does not have the log books for the earliest models from the first Singer sewing machine in 1851, but those serial numbers likely started from number 1.

Tips and warnings

  • If you can only find the model number, contact Singer at 1-800-4-SINGER for additional help.

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