Post your 1973 Raleigh serial numbers please
 

A recent thread on a Raleigh Professional raised a serial number question that I’d like to explore with your help.

Prior to 1973, Professionals had serial numbers with a letter followed by 4 numbers, with A indicating 1966, B = 1967, and so on. 1973 should be designated with an H according to this sequence but many A sn’s have been documented for 1972-3. One possibility is that in 1972 the G series production exceeded 9999 and A was used for the rest of 1972. Others say that A indicates 1973, but I recently bought a 1973 Professional with an H serial number, so they do exist, but are rarely mentioned.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...88af86dda1.jpg


Sometime in 1973 the serial number format changed to use a W prefix, indicating the Worksop location, a second letter indicating the month, and (usually) 7 numbers, the first of which indicates the last digit of the year, so a number WA7001234 would have been made in January 1977.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e3cc489e48.jpg
^ This SN is from a 1976 SuperCourse MkII

The recent thread showed a W serial number with only 6 numbers, the first being 0. The bike is clearly not a 1970 or 1980 model, so it raises the possibility that the W serial number sequence did not include the year designation until the second year of its use, 1974.
1973-74 Raleigh Professional Mk.IV anomalies

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e9335fd8b2.jpg

So, what do you think? Does anyone have a Raleigh with a serial number that begins with Wm3xxxxxx?

Post your serial numbers for Raleighs likely made in 1973 with either A or H prefixes or W prefixes and let's see what we find.

1973 Super Course, Capella lugs, Coffee Brown. Serial number 0021563. No letters, just numbers, located on the NDS dropout - not on the bottom bracket.

I’ve owned a few models from 1973 based on the Capella lugs: International, Competition, and SuperCourse. Don’t have them any longer but might have a pic of serial #s. Will check.

Found a pic of the '73 Competition. Serial # A5750:
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...924baa2889.jpg

Professional Mk.IV, A7310

Thanks! The Grand Prix, SuperCourse and Gran Sports used a different serial number pattern without letters prior to the start of the W.. standard. The Headbadge has a great description of these patterns here:
Raleigh SN's on the Headbadge

There is also a registry of Carlton serial numbers:
Carlton SN Registry

Scanning down the list, I don't see any Wm3xxxxxx format serial numbers.

73? Professional
 

Looks like mine starts with F.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ba76530a8a.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2b33039326.jpg​​​​​​

Yours is from 1971