Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Chickering Scale 123 Help With Dates

Long time lurker, first time poster.
I went to look at a 6’4” Chickering Scale 123. Cabinet is in great condition and soundboard looks solid. Keys are Original ivory but one key is missing the ivory top. Piano has not been tuned in three years.
I have a few questions that I’m hoping you guys can help answer.
1) the serial number appears to be 18967. If that is correct, that would mean it was built between 1855-1860. That does not seem correct to me based on the style of the piano alone. Any additional insights?



2) when did the scale 123 come into existence?

3) could this number be the case number?

I would suspect that the serial number is missing a "1" from the beginning, which would make it date from 1911. The case design reinforces that idea. There might be dates on the keys or under the hammer rail.

You should not pay much for this piano. It needs thousands of dollars of restoration. An offer of $500 would be generous, and that only if the music desk has all the parts and can be repaired. I would pass in any case, but the music desk would knock almost all the value from the piano if it is missing, just to give you an idea of the cost of restoration.

Below is link to a video to a Chickering w/123 scale dated 1919. Appears to be identical to piano in above post.

1919 Chickering

It also seems the tuning pins are hammered down, indicating a new pinblock is needed. In the Chickering, this is a much larger job than other pianos.

Great piano, but if you like it, find another one that works fine and is cheap.

Steve

Thanks everyone. I agree that the serial number may be missing a digit. If anyone knows actual production dates of the scale 123 I’d appreciate the data.
I did not pay over $500 as recommended on here, but I also am not looking to turn a profit on this item. If I can invest some money and make it a playable piano then. I’d be content in the purchase. I know this boars is full of professionals and making money on a piano is a different story.
I’ll have it delivered next week and then bring in the tech to see what he says. I’ll try to keep this thread going.

Thank you to everyone on this forum that has provided a wealth of knowledge. I am grateful. While I am not a piano expert, I feel as though this forum helps arm me with just enough information to be dangerous and is a constant resource.
I’ve had some work done on the piano and it’s coming along nicely.
One question for the forum is : does anyone know where the music stand and or hinges for this model could be found? I’ve scoured the internet and cannot find anything on it.