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Hello,

I have had this piano since 2006 and am now thinking about selling it. I looked for the serial number on this 5'8" grand and pulled the key slip that is attached with 4 screws. What I found is a 4 digit number in 3 places. on the back of the key slip,pin block,and pin block base. The # is 7946,do you think this is the serial #?
I am contemplating selling this piano and at first thought 5K would be a fair value. In the late 1980's the piano was restrung and new hammers installed. I had a tuner in to look at it and he said the piano sounded like a 6 foot grand. He was pretty impressed and believed that the piano was much older than I thought. That why I searched for the serial # today.
I would appreciate any feedback on this subject.

I should add that running the serial # puts date of manufacture at about 1898. The tuner today said one of the reasons he thought it was atleast 100 years was that the sharps were pretty worn.

That likely is not the serial number. It looks like it might be from the 1920s, but the photos do not show enough. Does it have 20 notes in the bass, or 26?

20 bass notes.....and I originally thought it was built in 1921. But now I am confused. Where would the serial # be?

The serial number would probably be under a coat of paint on the plate, unfortunately.

20 bass notes would be a model E.

OK the original # I found underneath was 38280 and that makes it a 1921.....do you think 5K is fair or??

Assessing the value of a piano from a few photos on line is not going to give you a reasonable valuation. There are a lot of fundamental properties regarding its value as a musical instrument - which is all that really matters in the piano market - that must done in person.

That being said, the piano market is still in the tank from the 2008 recession, and piano values are horrible. If you cruise through your local Craigslist ads and check Piano Mart to see if there are any comparable pianos listed, it will give you an idea of what market prices are these days.

If the piano was in excellent functional condition, $5K might at least be a starting point, but that's still a bit speculative.

If the soundboard is original, you may find the serial number stamped on the underside of the board, towards the high treble. I don't know if Baldwin always did this, but they definitely did from the early 60's on. It will be a 5 or 6 digit serial number

Thanks for the info. I do have a question,most info on finding the serial #'s on Baldwins point to where I found this 7946 number. Does anybody know what this number is and why it's found in 3 places?

I know it's probably a 1921 vintage because the frame has the Grand Prix Paris 1900,1904 stamping.

Just wondering.....

It is a number used to keep track of the parts while the piano is being assembled.

I made the error of assuming the numbers stamped on case components and the action frame as well with my 7' Baldwin F. The serial seems to be pretty exclusive to the plate with Baldwins, unlike Steinway who marked each part with the serial (which leaves no doubt as to a date). I wonder if Baldwin numbered case parts in serial by model with the plate serial figured in respect to total production output. I don't believe the case and component numbers were at all random.

I think they kept the Grand Prix cast in the plate (and the decal) for quite some time... perhaps until the redesigns that occurred through their affiliation with Bechstein?