Shakespeare Mystery Serial Numbers
And The Code Breakers
Kerry Hardy, Peter Denley, David Ross, and John Murphy
By Larry Vienneau and Lewis Kent
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| serial numbers for Shakespeare and Root Bows are usually below the riser on the back of the bow |
Folks often contact us about their Shakespeare and Root Bow serial numbers. Until recently we believed that these numbers are of little
value in determining age or value. Serial numbers are very helpful for other traditional
bow manufacturers, such as Hoyt and Bear which are still in business; they are
also useful for other manufacturers that archived the information such as Ben
Pearson Bows. Unfortunately, there was no available information about
Shakespeare Archery serial numbers. I tried getting information from Ernie
Root’s son and from former Root / Shakespeare employees. All said the records
were destroyed when Shakespeare closed its archery division. One employee
commented that all he knew was that the numbers were written with very nice
handwriting, on the bows and then the numbers were written into a log (with
very nice handwriting). I assume that that log is long gone and all hope of
finding a solution was hopeless.
From June 2013 until late January 2014, I had been
recording serial numbers for Shakespeare's most popular bows, Sierra X18,
Necedah X26, and Yukon X24. I got most of the numbers from online forums,
auctions, and friends. I had hoped to see a pattern or system emerging, but the
numbers are fairly ambiguous. As you can see, each model has a variety of
digits and letters, some shorter while others are longer. The only fairly
consistent trait is each model's serial number ending with a letter for each
model- "T" for Sierra, "H" for Yukon, and "M" for
Necedah X26. But even that is not consistent because there are anomalies (in
red text) in each model's serial numbers.
This all changed in late 2015. In December I received a blog
comment and email from a fellow who said he and a group of friends may have a
solution. I call these guys “The Code
Breakers”; Peter Denley, Kerry Hardy, David Ross, and John Murphy. These
like-minded guys had been using emails to figure out the serial numbers. They
had already figured out the Serial numbers for Browning recurves. They came up
with a workable system and tried to apply it to the Shakespeare bow. When I recorded my serial numbers for this
blog I noticed the use of letters at the end of the serial number was denoting
the various models. The Code Breakers also found this with the Browning bows.
The breakthrough happened when Kerry Hardy realized that
the first letter in the serial number actually represented the month of the
year in which the bow was made.
MONTH LIST
A = January
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B = February
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C = March
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D = April
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E = May
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F = June
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G = July
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H = August
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“I” was not used after 1962
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J = September
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K = October
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L = November
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M = December
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Kerry speculates that the letter “I” was never used
because of confusion with the number 1, however, I have a 1962 Model X-22 with
the letter “I”. The practice of dropping the “I” may have happened after 1962.
This use of the letters for the months is very credible since I have never seen
any serial numbers start with Letters N through Z.
The next number theoretically represents the year of the
decade. Shakespeare built bows from 1959-1976. This could be plausible for bows
made after 1962. The bows in my collection before 1962 seem to have problems
applying the theory, a couple have the number “3” and “4” however these are
from 1959-60. My bow from 1962 has a “2” and my 1963 bow
has a “3”. In fact, the numbers for all my bows except for pre1962 follow
this numerical theory perfectly.
The following stream of numbers could be the bows built
during the month. I have noticed that the early bows have smaller numbers and
the later bows have larger numbers. The factories were likely producing more bows in the later years
The last letter in the Serial Number is the designation
for the model. This is a pretty consistent trait in most bows but if you look
over the serial numbers I accumulated in just over 6 months you can see
anomalies. These could be mistakes or perhaps they denote manufacturing
differences. (Bear and Root often used each other's fiberglass and wood; maybe
this had some bearing on the anomalies)
Here is a list of Models with the serial number last
letter
MODEL LIST
Shakespeare models
1959-76
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’59-60 Model 100
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NA
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’59-60 Model 200
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NA
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’59-60 Model 300
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NA
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’59-60 Model 400
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NA
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’59-60 Model 500
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NA
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’59-60 Model 600
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NA
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X1 Shim-Bo
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NA
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X2 Shim-Bo
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NA
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X4 Purist
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D
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X5 Wambaw
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T
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X6 Graduate
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X
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X10 Professional
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X
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X10A Professional
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X
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X12 Wambaw
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C
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X14A Ocala Special
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J, R
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X15-63 Wonderbow
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A
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X15-66 Wonderbow
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A
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X15-69 Wonderbow
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A
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X15 Titan
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A
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X16 Supreme
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B
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X17 Wonderbow
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C
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X17-62 Ocala
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C
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X17 Ocala
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C
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X17A Ocala Special
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?
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X18-64 Wonderbow
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D
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X18 Sierra
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T
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X18W Ouachita
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W
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X19 Wonderbow
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E
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X19-63 Wonderbow
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E
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X20-58 Wonderbow
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K
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X20 Manitou
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K
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X21 Tioga
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N
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X22 Wonderbow
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G
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X22 Custer
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G
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X23 Pecos
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F
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Factory Second
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Per model
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X24 Wonderbow
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H
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M24
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H
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X24 Yukon
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H
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X25 Trident
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L
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X26 Necedah
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M
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X27 Kaibab
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R
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X28 Necedah
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N
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X29 Cascade
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E
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X30 Super Necedah
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S
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X31 Necedah
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A
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X32 Super Necedah
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P
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X40 Mancos
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K
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QT2 Takedown
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M
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Reading your serial number
Thanks to Peter, Dave, Kerry, and John;
Shakespeare collectors have a system for interpreting their serial numbers. When I spent 6 months recording serial numbers
I did find anomalies in the model designations which could have been random
mistakes or a slight change in the model.
Remember that this is a theory, and it seems to be working. Sometimes there
may be an anomaly that could make your serial number tough to read. I have not
been able to find serial numbers for The Graduate X6, target bows from the mid-1970s, and serial numbers for the Ocala
X17A. If anyone has serial numbers for these three bows please contact me.
1. The draw weight is often the top number
followed by #
2. The first letter represents the month (see
monthly chart)
3. Next to the first letter there is a number
which represents the year in the decade. (0-9)
4 the next string of numbers may be the
production number for a bow for the month.
5. The last letter likely represents the
model. (see model chart)
6. Under the serial number is the Bow length
( also called AMO)
 |
This bow was built in May 1971; it is number
2381 of the month. It is a Kaibab X27 model and it is 62 inches in length. It is 42 lbs. draw weight at 28-inch draw
length.
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I want to thank “The Code Breakers”; Peter Denley, David
Ross, John Murphy, and especially Kerry Hardy.
I doubt the system would ever have been deciphered without Kerry’s striking
realization that letters represent the months of the year. Thanks, Kerry!!!
Remember that this is a guide, results may vary.
This system does not work on Root Archery. I hope to unleash the Code Breakers on Root Bows and woe to those serial numbers. Since
Root Archery produced fewer bows than Shakespeare, finding these numbers will
be time-consuming. I have collected many numbers but getting enough to draw
comparisons will take a while.
© Copyright, Larry Vienneau Jr.
All rights reserved.
