This was sold under the Electro-Hygiene brand. Jeff Schroff would love to check this one out.
To find the nameplate of this vacuum, it can be found in one of two different locations:
a) the underside of the motor
b) the back view of the rug nozzle (look around either left or right front wheel)
Nameplate location b) would be the one which has the serial # which actually references the year of manufacture.
From 1970-1976, the serial number started off with "x7y" (where "x" is the year of manufacturing and "y" is the month coded from A-L/M). For example, a serial # bearing the first three characters of "47C" reference a March 1974 build date (it would leave the factory in April 1974). The code breaks down as:
4 = year of manufacture
7 = decade of year of manufacture
C = month of March.
For 1977 it was changed to "77x" (where the first two digits are the year and "x" is the month from A-L/M; for example, "77C" reads March 1977).
In late 1978, it was changed again, this time to "x78" (where "x" again indicates month and the two digits after that the year; "J78" would mean either September or October 1978 depending on whether or not the letter "I" was used for September, as some instances use "M" to represent December). This format is still in use to this day.
For example: Serial #L78-B-179863, from a 501 Prince hand vacuum, indicates a mfg. date of November or December 1978.
~Ben
