A Mildly Interesting Serial Number Discovery

[Woggers]

I recently purchased a PRS from its third owner on Reverb. (NGD post coming soon.) According to the listing, the third owner had the guitar sent to PTC last year for a pickup swap and a “cleaning.”

After my purchase, I accidentally stumbled upon an old Reverb listing from the second owner of this guitar. While comparing photos from the two listings, I made a surprising discovery.

From the 2nd owner’s listing:

From the 3rd owner’s listing:

It seems that the “cleaning” also involved rewriting the serial number. I had always assumed that the serial number was concealed beneath a layer of polyurethane, but I suppose that is not the case.

Regardless, it looks much nicer now!

Mildly interesting…. right?

 

[DISTORT6]

Contact PRS for some info on this.
I wouldn't let the seller off the hook just yet, either.

 

[Herr Squid]

That redone serial number may be evidence that the guitar was refinished, possibly at the PRS PTC. Around that time, PRS had some trouble with their V12 finish -- I have an '11 Studio where the finish has bubbled and cracked a little at the edge of the fretboard. I've never had done anything about it, but some owners did have their guitars refinished because of it.

 

[Woggers]

That redone serial number may be evidence that the guitar was refinished, possibly at the PRS PTC. Around that time, PRS had some trouble with their V12 finish -- I have an '11 Studio where the finish has bubbled and cracked a little at the edge of the fretboard. I've never had done anything about it, but some owners did have their guitars refinished because of it.

Yeah I was thinking that too. I’ve got a few from the same era with some minor V12 haze going on.

Both sellers did document a small finish ding on the top that certainly would’ve been resolved with a complete refinish though, so it’s kinda odd. Might’ve just done a neck refinish or something.

I’ll reach out to PRS and see if they can sort this out. Mildly interesting, to say the least.

 

[rcsrich]

My money’s on a refinish. No harm in that if done by the PTC, but definitely should be disclosed.

 

[Dirty_Boogie]

When PTC refinished my CU22 ( due to a clouding issue) they re-wrote the serial number.

 

[Woggers]

When PTC refinished my CU22 ( due to a clouding issue) they re-wrote the serial number.

Thank you, I bet that’s what happened here as well.

 

[bodia]

When PTC refinished my CU22 ( due to a clouding issue) they re-wrote the serial number.

Yep, I've had a couple re-finished and the numbers were re-written. They messed up on the first one. My Cu22 went in with a 2008 serial number and came back with a 2006 year identifier with the rest of the 2008 serial number.