Hello everyone! I have a Ludwig Snare that's a little tricky for me to date. I'm a bit older and when I think back on how I acquired this snare, I was pretty sure that I bought it used from Harry at the Drum Center of Indy back in the mid 90's but after a little research, I think I could be confusing it with another drum.

Looking at the badge, it's an Old Monroe with a seven digit serial number of 3475989 It's a 6.5 x 14 Supraphonic and it has an ink stamp in black ink on the inside that reads 061711. That ink stamp makes me think the snare could have been made in 2006 or 2011. If that's the case....... MIND BLOWN

Thanks for reading!

Unfortunately, I don't think anyone has "broken the code" on those Ludwig date stamps. The only thing I can offer is the fact that I've got a prototype "Imperial Jazz Fest" snare (10 Imperial lugs) that was made for Ludwig Marketing Director Jim Catalano in approximately 2006 and later sold to Bun E. Carlos. The Monroe badge number is 3458161, fairly close to your 3475989. Hope this helps.

If you post some photos of your drum's badge, lugs, head logo, throw-off, etc., someone here on the forum may be able to narrow down the manufacture date. But not me - I'm not knowledgeable at all on post-1970s Ludwigs.

Regards, mb

Thanks so much for the information! I'll post some photos a little later on. This particular snare has the Millennium throw off and die-cast hoops.