The Rohrbaugh Forum
Rohrbaugh Products and Accessories => Rohrbaugh R9 (all variations) => Topic started by: Richard S on October 02, 2009, 03:28:28 PM
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Correction for the record regarding serial numbering of Rohrbaugh 9mm pistols.
In a thread on the Classifieds section of the Forum, I posted some speculation regarding serial numbering of the Rohrbaugh 9mm pistols. That thread can be found at the following link:
http://www.rohrbaughforum.com/YaBB.cgi?board=Classifieds;action=display;num=1252960172;start=
On the basis of additional research, including a review of posts to the Forum going back to its earliest days and my stored private messages, I want to correct my previous remarks. I now believe the following to be a relatively accurate summary of the evolution of serial numbering for the Rohrbaugh 9mm pistols.
Rohrbaugh began shipment of the 9mm pistols from its factory, then located in Farmingdale, New York, in the spring of 2004. It is my understanding that serial numbers 1-100 were reserved for the owners of the company and for presentation purposes. Only a very few of those first 100 frames have been used. Most of the frames remain stored in the company vaults. Following a visit to the factory back in October 2004, the Administrator of the Forum was able to reveal that the pistol bearing Serial No. 2 was owned by Eric Rohrbaugh:
http://www.rohrbaughforum.com/YaBB.cgi?board=R9S;action=display;num=1097120610
I might make a guess as to the identity of the owner of No. 1, but I shall not do so here.
With regard to Serial Nos. 101-147, No. 101 was a presentation model given by the company to one of its supporters. The first pistol sold to a member of the public was No. 102. That pistol, No. 102, has since been reacquired by the company and is on display at the factory as the first Rohrbaugh 9mm sold. (As I have previously noted, I am the proud owner of No. 132.) From what I have been able to glean from previous postings and my stored private messages, there appear to have been three additional Rohrbaugh 9mm pistols that were issued with special serial numbers. I believe these to have been Nos. 321 and 322 and one pistol bearing a customized number that included the "handle" of one of the company's earliest supporters (e.g., ***-1).
There was no distinction in numbering for those models having sights (which bore the engraving "Rohrbaugh R9s" on the right front of the slide) and those without sights (which were engraved "Rohrbaugh R9"). The slides for both models were engraved on the left front with the words "Farmingdale, N.Y."
The "R" prefix was added to the serial numbering after some minor revisions were made in the design of the pistol. These included adding a few thousandths of an inch to the thickness of the slide for added durability and fully enclosing the barrel pin on the right-hand side of the frame to match the fully enclosed barrel pin area of the frame on the left-hand side, thereby giving the pin area of the frame more strength and durability. Whether one considers the "R" prefix to stand for "Rohrbaugh" or for "Revised," it does denote a pistol produced following the design changes just described. The first of the pistols bearing the "R" prefix was numbered R101. That pistol was retained by the company and is stored in its vaults. As to subsequent production, it should be noted that due to various aspects of the manufacturing process the pistols were and are not necessarily shipped in strict order of their serial numbers.
In the fall of 2004, with fewer than 1,000 of the 9mm pistols having been manufactured and shipped, Rohrbaugh moved its factory from Farmingdale to larger facilities in Deer Park, New York. (The relatively small number of pistols bearing the "Farmingdale" engraving on the slide has given them something of a "collectible" status -- and thus the colloquial term, "Farmies.") All Rohrbaugh 9mm pistols manufactured after the factory's move from Farmingdale are engraved "Deer Park, N.Y." on the left-front side of the slide. These pistols, of course, also have frames bearing serial numbers with the "R" prefix.
I hope this post based on some actual research will help clear up any misunderstandings which my previous speculations may have caused regarding the serial numbering of what I consider to be the finest pocket pistol yet produced.
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Richard, thanks for the update, it seems you must have had a lot of spare time on your hands ;D
John
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Old semi-retired lawyers can't shake the research habit. 8)
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Thank you for the no shake and all you contribute to this forum.
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Richard. Thanks for all the research. Very informative.
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Also remember that the "S" suffix on the slide was discontinued also with the first 48,along with the beginning of the R prefix..
Also that the frames were sent out to be anodized in no specific order,so there is no real correlation to which #s were made into a pistol for sale..
I had one of those,let it slip thru my hands..
Still have a couple of "early" Farmies ,but carry a Deer Parker!!
Gotta love those Farmies!! 8)
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I had one of those,let it slip thru my hands..
8)
:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
I feel your pain Brenden!
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Also remember that the "S" suffix on the slide was discontinued also with the first 48,along with the beginning of the R prefix..
Also that the frames were sent out to be anodized in no specific order,so there is no real correlation to which #s were made into a pistol for sale..
I had one of those,let it slip thru my hands..
Still have a couple of "early" Farmies ,but carry a Deer Parker!!
Gotta love those Farmies!! 8)
Thank you, Brenden. I had forgotten to mention that matter regarding the "S" suffix.
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:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
I feel your pain Brenden!
Well atleast its still here in good company!
"143" is safe and sound....
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Well atleast its still here in good company!
"143" is safe and sound....
Another early "Farmie" present and accounted for! 8)
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Does someone have a "running" list of who has what regarding "Rohrbaugh rarities"? Maybe even all the serials. Just the "Farmies" would be interesting though.
Think I read somewhere that this forums members can account for over "half" of the production run to date.
You know...like lawyers, always gotta "dig". ;D