Dating Information for Slant-needle Models:
301, 301A, 401A, 403A, 404, 500A and 503A
Singer along with the Berlin-based agency "Culture Management Berlin" created a database of Singer sewing machine world productions in 2000 and 5 years later the list was finally finished and published in 2005.
This database is the first and only complete database of Singer sewing machines productions in the world. There is no other list! Copyrights are owned by the Berlin-based agency "Culture Management Berlin". A joint licensing agreement for offering this entire database on the Internet, print media is only between the Culture Management Berlin [Germany] and the Singer Corporation NV [USA]. Licenses can be purchased only through the agency "Culture Management Berlin". You can use the lists for private use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Unfortunately, the only Slant-needle production records from the Anderson factory is the "NA" Series Register Numbers in 1951. There are no Series Register Numbers log books from 1952 to 1963 for the Slant-needle models. The only explanation is they were burned in an office fire.
It is therefore my goal to establish a database of serial numbers for all Slant-needle models and create the most accurate "Year of Issue" as possible, the year your sewing machine was made. The database includes, model, color, serial number, short or long bed, original purchase receipts, instruction manual copyright date and revised dates, other owner information.
Singer's Years of Issue:
NA-1951 NB-1956 NC-1961
This is not completely accurate! Please Keep Reading!
To this very day, if you call Singer's customer service they will give you three "Years of Issue" for all NA, NB, and NC serial numbers that include Models 301, 301A, 401A, 403A, 500A and 503A that were manufactured at the Anderson factory in South Carolina. These years of issue are not completely accurate and are the years Singer issued the entire series of serial number; NA-1951, NB-1956, and NC-1962.
NA-1951
(Singer Issued 1 million Serial Numbers)
The Anderson factory did not manufacture 1 million "NA" serial numbered sewing machines in 1 year, 1951.
"Only 10,000 "NA" serial numbers were manufactured in 1951"
Singer Model 301, 301A, 401A and 403A all have "NA" serial numbers!
NB-1956
(Singer Issued 1 million Serial Numbers)
The Anderson factory did not manufacture 1 million "NB" serial numbered sewing machines in 1 year, 1956.
Singer Model 301A, 401A and 403A all have "NB" serial numbers!
NC-1961
(Singer Issued 1 million Serial Numbers)
The Anderson factory did not manufacture 1 million "NC" serial numbered sewing machines in 1 year, 1961.
Singer Model 401A, 500A and 503A all have "NC" serial numbers.
The only "Year of Issue" for Slant-needle Models on the World Wide Web!
"Year of Issue" for the Singer 301 and 301A
| Singer Model 301 & 301A | ||
| Singer Model: | Serial Numbers: | Manufactured Year & Location: |
| 301 (Centennial Year 1851-1951) | NA000001 to NA001000 | 1951 Anderson, SC (Centennial LE) |
| 301 (Centennial Year 1851-1951) | NA001001 to NA010000 | 1951 Anderson, SC (Anniversary LE) |
| 301 (Grand Introduction Oct 1952) | NA010001 to NA185750 | 1952 Anderson, SC (Start & End of 301) |
| 301A | NA185751 to NA353000 | 1953 Anderson, SC (Start of 301A) |
| 301A | NA353001 to NA471000 | 1954 Anderson, SC |
| 301A | NA471001 to NA500000 | 1955 Anderson, SC |
| 301A (Start of "NB" Serial Numbers) | NB000001 to NB146000 | 1956 Anderson, SC (NB-1956) |
| 301A | NB146001 to NB200000 | 1957 Anderson, SC (End of 301A) |
| Unassigned | NB200001 to NB300000 | |
| Totals : 301 - 185,750 / 301A - 514,250 / Grand Total: 700,000 from 1951-1957 | ||
"Year of Issue" for the Singer 401A
| Singer Model 401A | Singer Model: | Serial Numbers: | Manufactured Year & Location: |
| 401A | NA500000 to NA700000 | 1956 Anderson, SC (Start of 401A) |
| 401A | NA700001 to NA900000 | 1957 Anderson, SC |
| 401A | NB300001 to NB600000 | 1958 Anderson, SC |
| 401A | NB700001 to NB800000 | 1959 Anderson, SC |
| 401A | NB800001 to NB900000 | 1960 Anderson, SC |
| 401A | NC000001 to NC100000 | 1961 Anderson, SC (End of 401A) |
| Grand Total: 1,000,000 from 1956-1961 | ||
"Year of Issue" for the Singer 403A
| Singer Model 403A | Singer Model: | Serial Numbers: | Manufactured Year & Location: |
| 403A | NA900001 to NA999999 | 1958 Anderson, SC (Start of 403A) |
| 403A | NB600001 to NB700000 | 1959 Anderson, SC |
| 403A | NB900001 to NB999999 | 1960 Anderson, SC (End of 403A) |
| Grand Total: 300,000 from 1958-1960 | ||
"Year of Issue" for the Singer 404
| Singer Model 404 | Singer Model: | Serial Numbers: | Manufactured Year & Location: |
| 404 | AM837800 to AM887799 | 1958 Elizabeth, New Jersey (Start of 404) |
| 404 | AM891700 to AM941699 | 1958 Elizabeth, New Jersey |
| 404 | AM954511 to AM999999 | 1959 Elizabeth, New Jersey |
| 404 | AN000001 to AN054511 | 1959 Elizabeth, New Jersey |
| 404 | AN075280 to AN175279 | 1959 Elizabeth, New Jersey |
| 404 | AN212995 to AN312994 | 1960 Elizabeth, New Jersey |
| 404 | AN465662 to AN467161 | 1963 Elizabeth, New Jersey |
| Grand Total: 401,500 from 1958-1960, 1963 | ||
"Year of Issue" for the Singer 500A
| Singer Model 500A | Singer Model: | Serial Numbers: | Manufactured Year & Location: |
| 500A | NC100001 to NC200000 | 1961 Anderson, SC |
| 500A | NC300001 to NC400000 | 1961 Anderson, SC |
| 500A | NC500001 to NC600000 | 1962 Anderson, SC |
| 500A | NC700001 to NC800000 | 1963 Anderson, SC |
| Grand Total: 400,000 from 1961-1963 | ||
"Year of Issue" for the Singer 503A
| Singer Model 503A | ||
| Singer Model: | Serial Numbers: | Manufactured Year & Location: |
| 503A | NC200001 to NC300000 | 1961 Anderson, SC |
| 503A | NC400001 to NC500000 | 1962 Anderson, SC |
| 503A | NC600001 to NC700000 | 1963 Anderson, SC |
| Grand Total: 300,000 from 1961-1963 | ||
Complete "Year of Issue" for the
Singer 301, 301A, 401A, 403A, 500A and 503A
| Singer Model: | Serial Numbers: | Manufactured Year & Location: |
| 301 (Centennial Year 1851-1951) | NA000001 to NA001000 | 1951 Anderson, SC (Centennial LE) |
| 301 (Centennial Year 1851-1951) | NA001001 to NA010000 | 1951 Anderson, SC (Anniversary LE) |
| 301 (Grand Introduction Oct 1952) | NA010001 to NA185750 | 1952 Anderson, SC (Start & End 301) |
| 301A | NA185751 to NA353000 | 1953 Anderson, SC (Start of 301A) |
| 301A | NA353001 to NA471000 | 1954 Anderson, SC |
| 301A | NA471001 to NA500000 | 1955 Anderson, SC |
| 401A | NA500001 to NA700000 | 1956 Anderson, SC (Start of 401A) |
| 401A | NA700001 to NA900000 | 1957 Anderson, SC |
| 403A | NA900001 to NA999999 | 1958 Anderson, SC (Start of 403A) |
| 301A (Start of "NB" Serial Numbers) | NB000001 to NB146000 | 1956 Anderson, SC |
| 301A | NB146001 to NB200000 | 1957 Anderson, SC (End of 301A) |
| Unassigned | NB200001 to NB300000 | |
| 401A | NB300001 to NB600000 | 1958 Anderson, SC |
| 403A | NB600001 to NB700000 | 1959 Anderson, SC |
| 401A | NB700001 to NB800000 | 1959 Anderson, SC |
| 401A | NB800001 to NB900000 | 1960 Anderson, SC |
| 403A | NB900001 to NB999999 | 1960 Anderson, SC (End of 403A) |
| 401A (Start of "NC" serial Numbers) | NC000001 to NC100000 | 1961 Anderson, SC (End of 401A) |
| 500A | NC100001 to NC200000 | 1961 Anderson, SC (Start of 500A) |
| 503A | NC200001 to NC300000 | 1961 Anderson, SC (Start of 503A) |
| 500A | NC300001 to NC400000 | 1961 Anderson, SC |
| 503A | NC400001 to NC500000 | 1962 Anderson, SC |
| 500A | NC500001 to NC600000 | 1962 Anderson, SC |
| 503A | NC600001 to NC700000 | 1963 Anderson, SC (End of 503A) |
| 500A | NC700001 to NC800000 | 1963 Anderson, SC (End of 500A) |
| Unassigned | NC800001 to NC999999 | |
Information for 301 and 301A Owners
Singer 301 & 301A - Registry of Serial Numbers!
With the help of so many owners of the Singer 301/301A I was able to come up with a very accurate "Year of Issue" by making a "Registry of Serial Numbers" that allowed owners to register any Slant-needle sewing machine. Information used was Model Number, Serial Number, Color, Short or Long Bed. Other information may include original purchase receipts, instruction manual copyright date and revised dates, pictures, other owner information. In addition, a large collection of reference materials was also used.
Summary of the "Year of Issue" from the Registry of Serial Numbers!
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1951 Serial Numbers NA00001-NA010000: The "NA" Series Register Numbers shows that on 25 July 1951 Singer allotted a limited production run of 10,000 Singer Model 301 sewing machines, serial numbers NA000001-NA010000, to commemorate Singer's Centennial Anniversary in 1951, "one year prior" to its Grand Introduction in October 1952.
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The first 1,000, NA000001-NA001000, have a Blue Centennial Badge - "Singer 301 Centennial Limited Edition" and 9,000, NA001001-NA10000, have the new Black Band Badge - "Singer 301 Anniversary Limited Edition". They were all issued with the Green Cover Instruction Manual, Copyright 1951, (1051), Oct 1951. Original owner purchase receipts confirm they were all made and sold during the Singer's Centennial Anniversary from October to December 1951.
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1952 Serial Numbers NA010001-NA185750: These serial numbers were allotted to be manufactured in 1952. There are no original owner purchase receipts that show serial numbers NA010001-NA185750 purchased prior to the Grand Introduction of the Singer 301 in October 1952.
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1953 Serial Numbers NA185751-NA353000: We know from Singer, the Sewing Machine Blue Book and ISMACS (International Sewing Machine Collectors Society) that the Singer 301A was first manufactured in 1953. The Registry and Original purchase receipts confirms that NA185750 was the last 301 and NA185751 was the first 301A.
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1954 Serial Numbers NA353001-NA471000: Registry and Original purchase receipts confirm these serial numbers.
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1955 Serial Numbers NA471001-NA500000: This was the last of the 301A "NA" serial numbers. According to the Registry the 401A starts with NA500001.
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1956 Serial Numbers NB000001-NB146000: According to the Singer website this was the year all "NB" serial numbers were allotted. (NB-1956) Registry and Original purchase receipts confirm these serial numbers.
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1957 Serial Numbers NB146001-NB200000: Registry and Original purchase receipts confirm these serial numbers. End of manufacturing of the 301A. This was also the last year of manufacturing for the Singer 201 and 221 Featherweights in the United States.
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1958: Although manufacturing of the 301/301A ended in 1957 Singer still had inventory that was being shipped to Singer Sewing Centers during the 1958 year. The new Singer 404 slant-needle straight stitch sewing machine is now being manufactured and sold in the United States.
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1959: The Singer 301 & 301A was officially removed from the Singer Price List.
Made in 1951
It used to be a common belief that all "NA" serial numbered sewing machines were made in 1951. To this very day, if you call Singer's customer service they will tell you your "NA" serial number has a "Year of Issue" of 1951. This is because they have no records from the Anderson factory and with no choice but to use the misleading records from Elizabeth, New Jersey when they issued one million "NA" serial numbers, NA000001-NA999999, on 29 May 1951. Singer models 301, 301A, 401A and 403A all have "NA" serial numbers but were not manufactured until 1952, 1953, 1956 and 1958, respectively. The fact is "only" 10,000 sewing machines with "NA" serial numbers were allotted to be manufactured in 1951 during Singer's 100th Anniversary.
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Up to March 1996 you could call Singer Customer Service with your serial number and they would give you a "Birth-Date" of 29 May 1951 for all "NA" serial numbers. This is inaccurate!
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From April 1996 to 2005, Singer Customer Service used the Sewing Machine Blue Book dates of 1953-1959 for all "NA" and "NB" serial numbers. This is inaccurate!
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From 2005 to present-day, Singer Customer Service gives a "Year of Issue": NA-1951, NB-1956, NC-1961. This is inaccurate!
The only record from the Anderson factory is from 1951. What happened to the 1952-1963 "Series Register Numbers" log books is still a mystery, but one story, that might be true, is they were burned in a office fire.
How to Locate your Singer 301 or 301A Serial Number
Your serial number is located on the left hand side where the arrow is pointing!
Thank you for visiting the Singer 301 website!