Mitchell with serial # on side of frame

[Phil M.]

During the very early 50's, Mitchell had the serial # engraved in the paint on the side of the frame. They were 6-digit serial #'s starting with "A" "B" or "C". I have a reel with a 6-digit serial # on the side, but there is a number "1" as the first character. Does that mean the version I have came before or after the reels with the letters as the first character? There are no letters in the serial # at all, and the leading number is clearly a "1". This is a full-bail Mitchell, later to become the 300.

[Midway Tommy D]

Mitchell research indicates that supposedly they quit using the letter prefix in approximately 1951/52, which at that time would have been "C". Apparently this somewhat coincided with the introduction of the full bail. A six digit serial number beginning with "1" would be a fairly early 1953 reel as the thought is that serial numbers were 40779 to 203519 throughout that year. Research also indicates 3-0-0/3-0-1 was added in 1955 and Garcia was added for those going to the US market in 1958. Serial #s were also moved back to the bottom of the foot for all reels in the 1958 time frame.

[Phil M.]

Thanks, Tommy. That clears up matters tremendously.