Kawai Piano Serial Nos.

Year	Serial No.	Year	Serial No.
1930	6000	1976	844362
1935	8350	1978	973490
1940	9600	1980	1126366
1945	12000	1981	1219355
1950	14200	1982	1300000
1952	15000	1983	1380000
1954	18600	1984	1475000
1955	20590	1985	1550000
1956	21300	1986	1630500
1958	23200	1988	1781250
1960	26000	1990	1950000
1962	75760	1992	2050000
1964	132307	1994	2160743
1965	165178	1995	2197503
1966	203433	1996	2244232
1968	303686	1998	2314043
1970	425121	2000	2380000
1972	558216	2001	2410000
1974	718768	2002	2430000
1975	785568	2003	2466000

These serial numbers can be used only as a reference point.
An Exact date does not make a material difference to an assessment of a piano - a year or so out 120 years ago really is neither here more there.

The idea that 100% accuracy for all piano makers over a century ago is an interesting thought - but considering that all record keeping would be hand-written and kept in large ledger books, inaccuracies are likely. These records will be as reliable as the clerks whose job it was to keep them. The digital age of barcodes and scanned labels was still in the realm of science fiction. So we have to be content with our best guess numbers.

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Kawai: Short History

Richard Lipp Piano Serial Nos.

Year	Serial No.	Year	Serial No.
1905	25300	1954	43597
1910	30740	1956	43758
1915	36670	1958	43960
1920	36800	1960	44350
1921	37000	1966	47499
1922	37800	1967	48101
1923	38600	1976	49098
1924	39200	1985	50001
1925	40000	1986	50020
1926	40926	1987	50050
1927	41133	1988	50080
1928	41713	1989	50110
1929	42050	1990	50140
1935	42600	1991	50170
1936	42650	1992	50200
1937	42700	1993	50220
1938	42836	1994	50230
1948	43000	1995	50250
1949	43100	1996	50260
1950	43300	1997	50270

These serial numbers can be used only as a reference point.
An Exact date does not make a material difference to an assessment of a piano - a year or so out 120 years ago really is neither here more there.

The idea that 100% accuracy for all piano makers over a century ago is an interesting thought - but considering that all record keeping would be hand-written and kept in large ledger books, inaccuracies are likely. These records will be as reliable as the clerks whose job it was to keep them. The digital age of barcodes and scanned labels was still in the realm of science fiction. So we have to be content with our best guess numbers.

Back to the Piano Atlas