1979 Fender 25th Anniversary Stratocasters
** Serial No. 000000 **
The Prototype
&
** Serial No. 000001 **
THE First Production Model!!
A Brief History: 1979 marked the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the Fender Stratocaster. To promote the event, Fender produced the first of its "Anniversary" Stratocasters... 10,000 of them. The first 500 or so were finished in a white color (Pearl White) that experienced premature checking. Fender switched the finish color to Porsche Silver for the remaining 9,500. The serial numbers of the 1979 Anniversary Stratocasters are six digits long, beginning with the number 25(for 25th Anniversary). There were two exceptions to this; At least, the first two(and possibly as many as 10 - I've heard that #000010 was given to the family of Jimi Hendrix and is on display in the Hendrix museum in Seattle, WA) 1979 25th Silver Anniversary Stratocasters built were given unique serial numbers: 000000 and 000001. [#000000 was the prototype and #000001 the first official instrument of the run]. These first two anniversary Strats built by Fender - who did so well with the "Anniversary Strat" marketing concept, it would produce Anniversary Strats for every milestone thereafter - were originally owned by Fender's own Bill Carson. A few years later, Carson sold them to John Sprung, who, in turn, sold them at the Houston guitar show in the 80s and the pair (000000 and 000001) were separated. #000000 was bought by Don Lace, the inventor of the Lace pickup. #000001 was sold to Rudy Pensa, of Rudy's Guitars, who later resold it to an unknown buyer, and then it re-surfaced in 2002 with a London, England, guitar dealer. #000000 was subsequently acquired from the Lace estate. Both guitars were eventually re-united and held by an avid collector for the past few years, until purchased by myself here at Klik-n-Shop Guitars in January 2007.
For sale here is # 000001. The first "Anniversary" Strat of any kind offered to the public! A collector's "must-have" for sure. If you read the previous paragraph, or if you've ever seen one of the early Pearl White Anniversary Strats, then you know that they are prone to finish checking. This one is no exception(remember, it was well traveled - including a trip abroad & back!). However, it's not as checked as most I've seen, that's for certain. Let's face it, finding ANY White 25th Anniv. in mint or near mint condition would be quite a task I'm sure[# 000000 was kept in a controlled environment most of it's life, and even it has some checking - more on that one later though]. Checking aside, the guitar appears like it was never really played. It comes with it's original COM(Cert. of Merit) and Silver Anniversary owner's warranty card, trem-arm and bridge cover(ashtray), with original (and 'new-style' at the time) hardshell case. The average 25th Anniv. Strats have themselves proven to be decent investments, and gaining in value each year(White or SIlver). How much more will the FIRST ONE be worth in the years to come??! There's only ONE # 1 !!!
= SOLD! =
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000000 & 000001
[BOTH SOLD!]
#000000 - Original Prototype
