Trying to figure out the production date of my Mark II Suitcase piano

[Noah Peterson]

I recently purchased my first Rhodes, it's a Mark II suitcase in amazing condition (though the damper felts desperately need to be replaced, and there's a couple of issues with the pre-amp). I looked for the serial number which I know is supposed to date it but It seems that the final number was either erased or never stamped on in the first place, I have attached a picture of the serial numbers I could find (nothing "below" the tonebars is visible.) Is there any way to tell what year this is from without that? It's an 88 key suitcase with wooden hammers.

[spave]

Hi Noah,

Congrats on getting your first Rhodes! Your serial number is listed on the bottom of the black Rhodes label to the left of where it says "MADE IN U.S.A". However, it does not correlate to the production date. The post below goes over the changes to Rhodes serial #s over the years and shows how they don't directly correlate to the age of the Rhodes.

https://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=10920.0

With that being said, the other #s on the harp do decode what the production date was. The one in the top right corner 308 indicates when the harp itself was finished which for your Rhodes was the 3rd week of 1980. The second number 0505 is when the Rhodes was completed and it translates to the 5th day of the 5th week of 1980 

[Noah Peterson]

Thank you so much!