that's pretty close. 75 might be a little closer...

mike

Thank you sir!

According to the guides, Acros in the 917xxx - 1290xxx range are 1976 drums. I can confirm this is the case for mine: serial no. is 928xxx and bears a 1976 label inside.

Alex

Alex,

What is the date on the label on your drum? I suspect that in the blank for date there is a four or five digit number stamped. I generally call this a Date Code. Although there is not general agreement about how to interpret the Date Code, it appears that they were only in use in the 1971-72 time frame.

Rick

My pointy b/o badge 400 has serial #916569.

Paper sticker inside has date code stamped in ink: 21720. For whatever reason, I always interpreted it as a 1972 drum but don't know for sure.

No one has just provided an explanation of the Date Code, but I have gathered reports from about 125 drums with Date Codes and am still searching. I have them all listed on my website under the Ludwig Date Guide tab. Any ideas are welcome.

KC, here's another drum to include in your data. It's for sale over on DFO. Seller says it is from 1971. Stamp on paper label reads 4272. Serial # is 930862

[IMG]http://www.drumforum.org/uploads/monthly_02_2014/post-186-0-24652400-1392174482.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.drumforum.org/uploads/monthly_02_2014/post-186-0-23687600-1392174493.jpg[/IMG]

Sr.no. 929218 / Date 4272 / model 404

Alex

Thanks to both of you for the information.

I would suggest that the dating guides generally available for 1970s Ludwigs are not particularly accurate. They are based upon Rob Cook's chart from his The Ludwig Book. Much of the post-1972 data that Rob relied upon was provided by Paolo Sburlati and matches the information that Paolo shows in his book Ludwig - Yesterday and Today. Rob should be thanked for being one of the first to produce a dating guide that addressed this era. However, I believe that the serial number range shown for 1976 is overstated. The years 1973-75 are skipped, making it appear that no drums were produced during that period, which does not make a lot of sense. Many have relied upon Rob's guide and mistakenly believed that their drums are from 1976, when most are actually older by a year or two or three.