Steinway Serial Number Lookup: Find Your Piano's Age
Every Steinway carries a serial number, and it is the quickest way to work out how old your piano is. This page shows you where to find it, gives you the full year-by-year chart from 1856 to today, and explains what the number can and cannot tell you.
A quick word on who we are. We are piano specialists, and most of what we sell is reconditioned Yamaha from Japan. We are not a Steinway dealer. We wrote this guide because we are asked about Steinway ages and values all the time, and the information online is often thin or hidden behind a sign-up form. Whether you own a Steinway or you are thinking of buying one, this should tell you what you need to know.
Where to find the serial number
The number is stamped into the cast iron frame, the large gold-coloured plate inside the piano. It is usually five or six digits.
On a grand, lift the top lid and look at the plate near the tuning pins, towards the keyboard end. It is often close to the word “Steinway” or the model letter. You may need to slide the music desk out of the way to read it.
On an upright, open the top lid and look down at the plate behind the top panel. On some models you lift the front panel off to see it. The number is cast or stamped into the metal.
Write down the whole number. Do not confuse it with the model number, the patent numbers, or a part number, which also appear on the plate.
Steinway serial number chart, 1856 to today
Find where your serial number falls, then read across to the year. Each figure is roughly the number Steinway had reached by the start of that year, so a piano numbered between two rows was made in the earlier year. For example, a piano numbered 245,000 sits between 1926 and 1927, so it was made in 1926.
1856 to 1899
| Year | Serial number reached by then |
|---|---|
| 1856 | 1,000 |
| 1858 | 2,000 |
| 1860 | 3,000 |
| 1861 | 5,000 |
| 1863 | 9,000 |
| 1865 | 11,000 |
| 1866 | 13,000 |
| 1867 | 15,000 |
| 1868 | 17,000 |
| 1869 | 19,000 |
| 1870 | 21,000 |
| 1871 | 23,000 |
| 1872 | 25,000 |
| 1873 | 27,000 |
| 1874 | 29,000 |
| 1875 | 31,000 |
| 1876 | 33,000 |
| 1877 | 35,000 |
| 1878 | 40,000 |
| 1881 | 45,000 |
| 1883 | 50,000 |
| 1886 | 55,000 |
| 1887 | 60,000 |
| 1889 | 65,000 |
| 1891 | 70,000 |
| 1893 | 75,000 |
| 1894 | 80,000 |
| 1896 | 85,000 |
| 1898 | 90,000 |
1900 to 1949
| Year | Serial number reached by then |
|---|---|
| 1900 | 95,000 |
| 1901 | 100,000 |
| 1902 | 105,000 |
| 1904 | 110,000 |
| 1905 | 115,000 |
| 1906 | 120,000 |
| 1907 | 125,000 |
| 1908 | 130,000 |
| 1909 | 135,000 |
| 1910 | 140,000 |
| 1911 | 145,000 |
| 1912 | 155,000 |
| 1913 | 160,000 |
| 1914 | 165,000 |
| 1915 | 170,000 |
| 1916 | 175,000 |
| 1917 | 180,000 |
| 1918 | 190,000 |
| 1919 | 195,000 |
| 1920 | 200,000 |
| 1921 | 205,000 |
| 1922 | 210,000 |
| 1923 | 215,000 |
| 1924 | 225,000 |
| 1925 | 230,000 |
| 1926 | 240,000 |
| 1927 | 250,000 |
| 1928 | 260,000 |
| 1929 | 265,000 |
| 1930 | 270,000 |
| 1931 | 271,000 |
| 1932 | 273,000 |
| 1933 | 275,000 |
| 1934 | 278,000 |
| 1935 | 279,000 |
| 1936 | 281,000 |
| 1937 | 289,000 |
| 1938 | 290,000 |
| 1939 | 294,000 |
| 1940 | 300,000 |
| 1941 | 305,000 |
| 1942 | 310,000 |
| 1943 | 314,000 |
| 1944 | 316,000 |
| 1945 | 317,000 |
| 1946 | 319,000 |
| 1947 | 322,000 |
| 1948 | 324,000 |
| 1949 | 328,000 |
1950 to 1999
| Year | Serial number reached by then |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 331,000 |
| 1951 | 334,000 |
| 1952 | 337,000 |
| 1953 | 340,000 |
| 1954 | 343,000 |
| 1955 | 346,500 |
| 1956 | 350,000 |
| 1957 | 355,000 |
| 1958 | 358,000 |
| 1959 | 362,000 |
| 1960 | 366,000 |
| 1961 | 370,000 |
| 1962 | 375,000 |
| 1963 | 380,000 |
| 1964 | 385,000 |
| 1965 | 390,000 |
| 1966 | 395,000 |
| 1967 | 400,000 |
| 1968 | 405,000 |
| 1969 | 412,000 |
| 1970 | 418,000 |
| 1971 | 423,000 |
| 1972 | 426,000 |
| 1973 | 431,000 |
| 1974 | 436,000 |
| 1975 | 439,000 |
| 1976 | 445,000 |
| 1977 | 450,000 |
| 1978 | 455,300 |
| 1979 | 463,000 |
| 1980 | 468,500 |
| 1981 | 473,500 |
| 1982 | 478,500 |
| 1983 | 483,000 |
| 1984 | 488,000 |
| 1985 | 493,000 |
| 1986 | 498,000 |
| 1987 | 503,000 |
| 1988 | 507,700 |
| 1989 | 512,600 |
| 1990 | 516,700 |
| 1991 | 521,000 |
| 1992 | 523,500 |
| 1993 | 527,000 |
| 1994 | 530,000 |
| 1995 | 533,500 |
| 1996 | 537,200 |
| 1997 | 540,700 |
| 1998 | 545,600 |
| 1999 | 549,600 |
2000 to today
| Year | Serial number reached by then |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 554,000 |
| 2001 | 558,000 |
| 2002 | 562,500 |
| 2003 | 567,000 |
| 2004 | 571,000 |
| 2005 | 574,500 |
| 2006 | 578,500 |
| 2007 | 582,000 |
| 2008 | 585,000 |
| 2009 | 588,000 |
| 2010 | 590,000 |
| 2011 | 592,000 |
| 2012 | 594,500 |
| 2013 | 597,000 |
| 2014 | 599,000 |
| 2015 | 601,000 |
| 2016 | 604,000 |
| 2017 | 607,000 |
| 2018 | 609,000 |
| 2019 | 612,000 |
| 2020 | 614,000 |
| 2021 | 617,000 |
| 2022 | 620,000 |
| 2023 | 622,000 |
| 2024 | 626,000 |
| 2025 | 628,000 |
| 2026 | 629,000 |
A note on accuracy. These figures come from the published piano atlases the trade has used for decades. They are close, but not exact to the individual piano. Steinway numbered pianos in batches, and an instrument could be finished a year or two after its number was assigned. Treat the answer as the year give or take, not a birth certificate to the day.
New York or Hamburg?
Steinway has two factories. The original is in New York, in the borough of Queens. The second opened in Hamburg, Germany, in 1880, to serve Europe. Both draw from the same single run of serial numbers, so the number on its own will not tell you which factory built your piano.
To tell them apart, look at the plate and the fallboard. A New York Steinway usually reads “Steinway & Sons New York”. A Hamburg one usually says “Hamburg” and often carries the Steinway lyre badge. Hamburg pianos were traditionally finished in a high-gloss black, while older New York pianos were often a satin black, though both have changed over the years. If you are unsure, send us a photo of the plate and we will tell you what you have.
Neither factory is better than the other. They are built to the same standard with a slightly different character, and both are excellent. For most owners it makes little difference to value, though in the UK a Hamburg piano can be worth a little more, simply because it is what most British buyers know.
What the serial number does and does not tell you
It tells you the age, and that is genuinely useful, because it also tells you which era of Steinway you have.
It does not tell you the condition, and condition is what really sets the value. A well-kept 1960s Steinway that has been looked after can be worth far more than a neglected one twenty years newer. Two pianos with numbers a few hundred apart can be worlds apart in the flesh.
It also does not, on its own, tell you whether a piano has been rebuilt, or whether the parts inside are still Steinway’s own. On older pianos this matters a great deal for value, and it is the first thing to check before you buy. Our guide to buying a used Steinway covers what to look for.
A word on Boston and Essex
Steinway also sells two cheaper ranges, Boston and Essex. These are designed by Steinway but built in Asia, Boston by Kawai in Japan and Essex by Pearl River in China. They are decent pianos, but they are not Steinway & Sons instruments, and they use their own separate numbering, so this chart does not apply to them. If your plate reads “Boston” or “Essex” rather than “Steinway & Sons”, you have one of those.
Thinking of buying, or selling?
If you are weighing up a used Steinway, the age is only the start. Have a read of our honest look at what a used Steinway is really worth and what to check before you buy.
And if you love the Steinway sound but the price makes you wince, it is worth knowing that a well-reconditioned Yamaha grand from Japan gives you a great deal of what people love about a Steinway, for a fraction of the money. That is what we do, and we are happy to talk it through with no pressure either way.