Posted 4 years ago
Kaspars
(1 item)
I inherited this and i want to find what year it was manufactured and how much wortht it can be. Didnt find any information with serial number which starts with letter A.
Singer sewing machine | ||
| Sewing481 of 2599 |  |  |
Hi, Kaspars. :-)
That serial number on a Singer sewing machine (A1180073) does seem to be a bit unusual, because it has the single alpha character "A" prefix, and the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society (ISMACS) doesn't seem to have any serial number tables for those:
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/serial-numbers/singer-sewing-machine-serial-number-database.html
However, because of that little trapezoidal access panel on the head front, your machine would seem to belong to the VS1, VS2, VS3, 27, & 28 family of machines.
To verify, use Sandman Collectables Singer Sewing Machine Identification Template:
https://www.sandman-collectibles.com/id-singer-machines.htm
Sandman's template says it's either a model 27 or 28:
https://www.sandman-collectibles.com/id-singer-machines.htm#15
More about this family of machines, plus a table of measurements:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/28
Your decal set is called "Sphinx," or "Memphis":
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/decals/decal12
D'oh! I must have been having a senior moment to have said that your machine belonged to the VS1, VS2, VS3, 27, & 28 family of Singer machines.
It does NOT have the trapezoidal access panel (that was a machine in a different post I was looking at); however, it does have another tell-tale feature: a tension knob protruding from the faceplate. That tells me it's probably some flavor of a model 15. Sandman Collectables would verify that as well.
About Singer model 15:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/15
http://needlebar.org/main/15chart/
As to value, valuation is not something done here at Collectors Weekly Show & Tell (it's against the rules). You can click the Appraisal link at the top of the page to get an estimate, but it isn't free.
Otherwise, here is some guidance:
http://ismacs.net/sewing_machine_articles/how_much_is_my_sewing_machine_worth.html
Kaspars, Just revisiting this, because the dearth of information about single "A" serial numbers was bothering me. :-)
Sewing machine expert Alex Askeroff opines that the single "A" serial numbers are associated with the Poldolsk, Russia factory, as are single "E", and "T" serial numbers:
https://sewalot.com/dating_singer_sewing_machine_by_serial_number.htm
Site Naehmaschinewerk has no information about single "A" serial numbers, but agrees that "T" serial numbers are associated with the Podolsk factory, as well as a handful of "S" serial numbers:
http://www.naehmaschinenwerk.de/singer_serialnumber/seite04_singer_1letter.htm
Why does the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society (ISMACS) have none of this information?
I don't know for certain, but it's probably that as with the lost "C" serial numbers (from the Wittenberge, Germany factory), they weren't able to verify any of it, so they left it out of their tables.
About the Podolsk factory:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/podolsk
As to the age of this machine, Sandman opines that, because it lacks the little thread path wheel to the right of the serial number cartouche, it's a relatively early model 15:
https://www.sandman-collectibles.com/id-singer-machines.htm#9
Your decal set is the famous "Sphinx":
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/decals/decal12
Certainly that cabinet with the bentwood cover, and single drawer marks it as a relatively old machine. Somebody else posted a Singer sewing machine installed in a very similar cabinet here at CW S&T:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/252969-singer-sewing-machine
Per the serial number on the base of the head, it was a model 28 produced in 1904 at Singer's Elizabethport, New Jersey factory.