Do you have a vintage singer?
 

Here is a link to Singers new site...I put in my serial number and they sent my by email a cert. of the year my Singer 66 was born. 1910 http://mysingerstory.com/

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, I hunted and hunted for certification of age on my 1921 Singer. Now I will frame it and hang it near my daily use machine.

I put in my info for the certificate; and the date came up as 1950. I remember when I got my Featherweight a few years back and looked up the serial number for the date; it said 1948. Has anyone else found conflicting dates for theirs?

here is another one if their sites...awesome info http://www.singerco.com/

Very interesting site! Things are not matching up though for me to figure out the date my machine was manufactured. I have a 15-91. When I bought it, the seller indicated it was made in 1951.

According to the link posted by the OP, when I put in my serial #, I am told my machine was made in 1904. Hmmm - way off the date given to me by the seller. So I go to the Singer website. Again, info isn't matching up. My serial # looks to be J0851326 (pictures posted below). Could be JO - but when looking at the serial number charts where 2 letters are used as the prefix - there is only JA through JE (JA - 1924; JB - 1936; JC - 1948; JD - 1951; JE - 1961). Doesn't look like a JD to me (that would match the year I was told the machine was made). If looking at the list for only a single letters as a prefix - still not a match (J1 to J885.839 - 1904; J885.840 - J1.905.204 - 1905).

Am I supposed to ignore the 0 when looking at the serial number? So that it would be J 851.326 (going by the numbering style given in the list with just a 1 letter prefix)? Am I looking at the right thing even, or is there a number on the machine elsewhere?

Also, the machine was made in Canada. Tried googling all of this - but everything leads to these same sites for identifying older singer sewing machines by their serial number.

Can anyone shed any light on this?[ATTACH=CONFIG]306993[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]306994[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]306995[/ATTACH]

Could it be a "JC" or a "JG"? in the first two letters and not a "0" at all? I sent my serial numbers into the new Singer place and got back some info I don't trust, so I'm still looking. Believe I'll try ISMACS.net. You might want to, also.

I think you have a 1948, because it looks like a "JC" to me.
The badge on the front of the machine. Does it have a blue ring with the dates 1851-1951? That would indicate a Centennial machine. If it's a black ring, or just solid brass, it lends to the 1948 date.
Definately not a 1904 machine, they didn't have the 15-91 then.

Thanks Charlee! It is just a brass ring. The 1948 date is more in line with what the seller told me. And I read on one site that the manufacturing of these machines took time, and the plate with the serial # might have been made early in the process. So by the time the machine was completed, delivered to where ever it was going to be sold, and made its way into the buyers hand - that could take a couple of years (hence the discrepancy some find on when they believe their machine to have been made with when it was actually manufactured). As she told me 1951 - the 1948 date fits more with that logic. Strange C though. I did try cleaning the plate with diluted Dawn, but that line almost seems etched in. It would be an almost enclosed C. Maybe that's how they made C's back then - start with an O or 0 and then put a little dash in it to denote it was a C.

I agree with Charlee that it looks like a C. The Singer site in the OP didn't tell me anything either, although I printed the certificate. I have a Model 15 also. The serial number was released in 1935 in a block of 35000. My father bought the machine new for my mother shortly after they were married in October 1936. How do I tell which version of a model 15 it is?

I have a similar model to yours. Mine is a 15-90 and the model number starts with JC and was made in Canada in 1948..

Found out my 99K was born in Clydebank Scotland in the Kilbowie plant in 1955..

Hi Shirley, that's a model 15-90 you've got. Dawn, that's a "JC" on your 15-91, manufactured at the Singer plant in Quebec.

- Rain

Vintage Singer Sewing Machine Blog
http://vssmb.blogspot.com/

In a different post, a link to this site was provided: http://vssmb.blogspot.com/2011/07/vi...ingers_30.html

Lots of great information in identifying which particular machine you have. Though I don't remember if it got into the particulars of a 15-90 versus a 15-91. I think I would be better able to tell the differences between a 66, 99, 201 and 15 series though after reading it all. :)

Thank you Rain! So funny - my post and yours just crossed paths. I was actually referencing your site!!! Learned a lot yesterday...

Thanks, Rain. I went to your blog, and it created more questions. I will PM you.

Thanks for the links. I have 16 Vintage Singers, and I love to play with them all.

Very helpful links!

I have 3 vintage Singers: a 401A, which I use most; a featherweight Centennial edition 1951, which I take to classes and retreats - what a little gem!; and a model 27 treadle fiddle base with coffin case built in 1889, this one needs some work.

I have an old kenmore, a singer 404, and my newest is a singer futura. I love them all!

i was told by board my treadle #ah605701 was a 1924 singer print out say its a1948 can some one answer this thanks suzieQ

my 301 singer was dated by board member #438590 on bottom it says 170156 but singer site says it is1951 could some on tell whats right suzieQ

My Singer Serial Number information sheet says it is a 1948.

Yes, my sewing machine mechanic said 1941 and the site said 1940.

The serial number on the bottom of your 301 is correct...and they only made those from 1950 through 1953.

Here is a website you can go to to identify your Singer by it's features. You start at the beginning and choose which features your machine has, and you end up at what your model is. It works every time, even on the models that have several different sub-types.

http://www.sandman-collectibles.com/...r-machines.htm

One thing to keep in mind is that they are quoting dates that the serial numbers were issued, not the specific manufacture date of your machine. If a lot of 35,000 serial numbers was issued in mid-1948, for example, they might not have used them all until early 1950. So, it's really only a ballpark date any of us are getting. They didn't keep exact manufacturing date records.

You can kind of "guesstimate" by your serial number where in the timeframe it was made. You would look at the next date serial numbers for that same model were issued, and kind of figure out how many months between, and then how many were probably made each month...you could do a little homework and maybe get closer.

I have a 1913 singer that i don't use...it's kept on a shelf, covered to protect it from dust while I work out of the laundry room. It's been checked out and is in full working order but I haven't used Singer machines before. I have a few machines but one of these days, I'm gonna take her for a test drive. Maybe for her 100th birthday next year!! =)

I've got to tell you - I had never used a Singer before, and certainly not a vintage Singer. I recently acquired a 15-91 (from 1948 - so a little bit newer than yours). So easy to use. Just got it back from having it serviced, and while I thought it sewed wonderfully before - it is absolutely fantastic now! As I sat down to try out my FMQing on her first - I literally could only say WOW! So incredibly smooth, the stitches were so pretty! Yes, I know - only a straight stitch - but comparing the stitch from this machine to that produced by my Janome 4800 - I have to say the 15-91 blows the Janome out of the water. And my Janome is more finicky about tension as well for FMQ. Also - I love the sound my 15-91 makes. This will be my machine of choice, easily.

I hope you give yours a spin soon!! :)