Meaning of the UV-S2S date code inside Montery mandolins

[fliprobison]

Hello. First, I sincerely apologize for reviving an old thread. But after reading all the responses to related questions on this site, the responses seemed to stop at this one. If the answer is somewhere else in the forums, I'll be appreciative to be redirected there.

I recently acquired a Harmony Monterey Model H417 mandoiin. I learned from the earlier thread that there is, on some instruments, a date stamp with a letter and number (e.g., S41, F53) that represents the approximate manufacture date. However, my mandolin has the stamp that reads UV-S2S. Apparently, there are quite a few Montereys with that stamp. I've attached a picture of the stamp.

I've had a few folks who purport to know about Harmony instruments tell me that the second "S" is intended to be a 5 or an 8. Others insist the designation means it was made in the thirties, and still others suggest that the code means nothing.

I realize that knowing the date really doesn't matter but, it would be fun to know tit (If it really was a 1928 instrument, I could make up a good story about it :).

[MikeEdgerton]

I have yet to be able to decipher that date code even though I've seen it a half dozen times. It's not a 1928 instrument, they were late models. Post a picture of the entire instrument including the back of the headstock and I can get close.

[chip]

The guitars have the same code from the 1945-1968 era. Probably a factory designation as to location..it could also mean the Ukulele- Violin department and Spring 2nd shift...

[MikeEdgerton]

The guitars have the same code from the 1945-1968 era. Probably a factory designation as to location..it could also mean the Ukulele- Violin department and Spring 2nd shift...

This particular date code has only showed up on instruments that are very late, I think it's actually early 70's. I know the website you found that on, it's not correct.

Normal Harmony date codes are F or S followed by a two digit year code such as F34 or S63. The F stands for First half, the S stands for Second half of the year. We used to think they stood for Fall and Summer/Spring but nobody ever saw a W for Winter. An interview with a former Harmony employee brought out the First and Second theory for the code and that makes sense. On occasion a third -X (where X is a letter or number) shows up. Who knows what that was.

The UV-S2S code has come up a few times over the years. I initially assumed that the S was either a 5 or 8 but it's an S. I'm guessing it was a change in date code at some point towards the end but without anyone to corroborate that with real memory or documents that is just a guess.

Lacking a readable date code it's usually fairly easy to date a Harmony instrument from the finish and the tuners. I was able to match up a mandolin with a catalog page a month or two ago for a Cafe member when the instrument didn't have a code.

[fliprobison]

I have yet to be able to decipher that date code even though I've seen it a half dozen times. It's not a 1928 instrument, they were late models. Post a picture of the entire instrument including the back of the headstock and I can get close.

It's on my bench right now with clamps on the braces. Soon as the glue's dry, I'll post pictures. The little dude has had a hard life. I appreciate your looking at it! When I was a boy, I used to look wistfully at the Harmony/Silvertone/ Airline big guitars and mandolins in the catalogs, but my first guitar was a bottom of the line Harmony folk ($15.95, branded Holiday, for the Aldens company). I played it from 1967 until I could afford something a little better in 1973. Still have it - got a laugh when I was offered a hundred bucks for it (no deal, though, can't give up your first one!).

[vic-victor]

An interview with a former Harmony employee brought out the First and Second theory for the code and that makes sense. On occasion a third -X (where X is a letter or number) shows up. Who knows what that was.


If third is present, the natural guess would be that it is a grade of an instrument rather than reference for year's half.

[fliprobison]

I've attached some photos of the mandolin. 121748
121749121750
121751121752
121753

[John Soper]

Boy, that looks like my first mandolin!