Is my 12J REALLY 100 years old?

[BopEuph]

So I'm greasing up the slides on my 12J right now, and getting ready for my 1,000 mile drive to the rehearsal city for the tour, starting tomorrow. I realized I've never dated this horn (or at least dated it with the obviously off serial number list in the past). Looking at the serial number, it's 200312. On the Conn Loyalist, that places it in 1923. I know this horn is old, but I can't imagine it's older than 50 years old. Then again, the Conn Loyalist site lists the 12J as an Eb 3v.

Can my horn really be almost a century old? I somehow doubt it.

[matt g]

My guess is that it’s from the 60s/70s.

https://www.conn-selmer.com/en-us/resou ... al-numbers

This doesn’t clear anything up, but I’m wondering if there was something mis-struck while stamping the s/n?

[BopEuph]

If I recall, I DID try to date my other 12J and had the same issues. I can't look anymore since I just sold it to Lee Stofer.

But the fact that this site has the 12J listed as an Eb is probably in a similar boat, too. I do remember reading that a lot of model numbers were repurposed later, but this site makes no mention of it.

[Dave Detwiler]

From what I've been able to piece together (so far!), Conn re-used the 12J model number. The first version, as you noted, was an Eb 3-valve front-action tuba, built from around 1919-1931. But then from at least 1986-1988, Conn built the second version, a BBb 3-valve front-action tuba with an 18 inch bell diameter.

Does yours perhaps match the specs of the latter?

[BopEuph]

Yep. 18" upright bell, 3 front action valves.

[BopEuph]

You know, curious about this again, I found this site:

https://www.horn-u-copia.net/serial/Connlist.html

Towards the bottom of the list it says this:

1980-1986 numbers are inexact, and may relate only to student level trumpets/cornets

ALTHOUGH, if I use that list, it puts my horn to 1984, which makes a ton more sense. I'm going to assume that until I have any better proof.

Don't know why it matters much, but it's fun to know how old these instruments are, considering that the sousaphone I have actually IS 100 years old, with the valves having been made in 1912.