Appears to be one digit too many. If it's a 6 digit serial number starting with 9, probably early to mid 1970's would be my guess. "KC Drumdad", who posts here, will have a better estimate I think.

Thanks BEC, that is what I thought also. With the number being so high I would think it would be a black & white badge or a Monroe badge. Maybe one of the Luddy experts can shed some light.

Something does not quite jive with the info that you have. Confirm the serial number with the seller and let us know.

I would suggest that you use the Ludwig serial number dating guides with caution, especially when Blue/Olive badges are involved. The guides are often misunderstood and given credit for providing more precise date estimates than they do. They are not based upon a large number of data points and underlying assumptions and shortcuts which were explained by their creators are too often ignored. I am working on an improved date guide which is based upon more than one thousand serial number/date stamp pairs and expands upon the limited treatment of the 1970s.

Just some blind speculation - what if the first two digits are transposed? 1926864 would be a later 1970s pointy corner Blue/Olive badge and would be consistent with the time frame of the existence of the Chrome over Wood finish.

Rick

Some of you are forgetting that Ludwig used the blue/olive badge into mid-1984, so the serial number could be correct for that era. Pictures of the drum would help a lot.

they weren't that high in numbers yet though..

mike

The following list may be helpful. It is a rough picture of the serial number ranges I have observed for the first few styles of badges:

1 - 749000 Keystone

749000 - 2120000 Blue/Olive with Pointy Corners

2120000 - 3131000 Blue/Olive with Rounded Corners

Note: There were several odd badges along the way.

1. Keystone Badges without serial numbers that appear in the September 1970 time frame.

2. Pointy corner B/O badges without serial numbers that appear in the September-October 1970 time frame.

3. Pointy corner B/O badges with hand trimmed corners in higher end of serial number range and transition to rounded corner B/O badge.

4. Pointy corner B/O badges with the bottoms trimmed off to fit the higher vent hole location on some snares (presumably drilled for Keystone badges).

5. Other oddities that may have been factory or may have been post-factory modifications/attempted restorations.

Rick

I have a proposal:

There's lot of ebay with serial numbers on badges and shell interior stamp, described in auctions every week...why not to update the #serials list?

Sounds like a good idea to me. As I posted above, "I am working on an improved date guide which is based upon more than one thousand serial number/date stamp pairs and expands upon the limited treatment of the 1970s." I have recorded information from eBay listings, VDF and DFO member reports, and drums that I encounter. VDF members mlayton and zenstat also made significant contributions to the list. In total, I have information from over 3,000 drums. I plan to publish a paper in 2013 which will include a dating guide and will help to shore up time frames and serial number ranges for changes like interior finishes and hardware.

I have drafted a date guide for Ludwig Standards that should be available in the next month or two. I am not aware of a currently available guide for Standards, so I prepared it before working on the revision to the main line guide.

Rick

Thanks for the help on this guys. I will have to double check and see if the first two digits were reversed. It would make sense if the badge is a pointy b/o. KC, looks like you have accumulated quite a pile of info on serial numbers (impressive). I have a Ludwig Standard with a date stamp on it if you want the serial number for you timeline.

Dean