Spencer Chase asked about Ampico A/B numbers in the 05.05.06 MMDigest.
Since no one else has answered yet, I will try.

Bob Taylor, in a talk at an AMICA convention in 1997 said the first B
rolls were nos. 68361 and 209161.

I don't disagree with that but I think the shift from A to B coding was
a little fuzzy: some rolls had synchronized crescendos but no zero-B or
zero-T holes, and a few A rolls were issued after the first B roll.
Were they just in the pipeline?

The following gives a little more information, based on rolls I have.

Ballad rolls: the earliest B roll is about roll 2193, or one or two
earlier.  I have 2151 which is an A and 2193 which is a B.

Classical 60000 series: the earliest original B roll is 68361.  I have
68333 which is B, but it is probably an Ampico re-coding, and 68323
which is an A.  The rolls from 68373 through 68421 are all B.

Popular 200000 series: the earliest original B roll is 209161.  I have
209201 and 209233 which are A rolls; 209221, 209311, and 209481 are B
but have no zero-B or zero-T holes; 209261 has zero-B but no zero-T
holes; 209333 and 209531 are full B; and 209583 has zero-T but no zero-B
holes.

All jumbo rolls (100005-101065) are B rolls.

Of course, many A rolls, at least in the 60000 series, were re-coded for
the B piano, while continuing to use the same catalog number.  These re-
coded B rolls often have stars on either side of the roll number on the
leader.

David Sharpe
Western Massachusetts