The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

OrthoFan wrote: Sat Oct 04, 2025 11:04 am victrola VV VI 174083F
victrola VV IVA 409144
victrola Vro II 5051A
victrola VV VI 254864F

Identifying the Victor Victrolas, and finding out when they were manufactured is very easy, thanks to the Victor-Victrola page -- http://www.victor-victrola.com/ -- which provides a description of each model and a dating guide by serial number (for most enclosed horn models).

Since Google monitors the site's information, all you have to do, for instance, is to go to Google, type in Victrola VVIX and you'll come up with the following -- https://www.google.com/search?as_q=Vict ... type=&tbs=

Click on the top link from the Victor Victrola page -- http://www.victor-victrola.com/IX.htm -- scroll down to the Serial Number Chart, and you'll see that it was manufactured in 1914.

For most external horn Victor Talking Machine models, such as the Vic. II, there is no serial number dating guide, but you can still get a good idea of when they were manufactured due to the detailed descriptions provided -- http://www.victor-victrola.com/Victor%20II.htm

phonogfp wrote: Sat Oct 04, 2025 11:16 am The "G", "S", "H", and "C" prefixes to Edison serial numbers indicate Gem, Standard, Home, and Concert respectively. These prefixes were used only during the earlier years of production. Later production will not have these prefixes.

Serial numbers for all Edison Phonographs from 1896-May 1908 have been correlated into sales graphs which have appeared in the following issues of the Antique Phonograph Society magazine:

Edison Gem: June 2023
Edison Standard: December 2023
Edison Home: June 2024
Edison Spring Motor/Triumph: December 2019
Edison Concert: December 2024

Current APS members can access all issues of the magazine back to March 2004 online (along with over 30,000 pages of other documents back to 1890).

George P.