Beiginning in 1941, and continuing until 1964, Valco put individual serial numbers on all it’s guitars. These appeared on a small aluminum plate nailed onto the back of the neck, near the peghead.

This instrument is numbered X59792 which makes it a 1956 guitar.

Included in this series were instruments that Valco manufactured for Sears (Silvertone), Montgomery Ward (Airline), and Oahu. Songwriter/guitarist Jeff Lang, who has quite an extensive collection of various instruments, describes this model as a “curious little guitar”.

Made by the National Guitar Company, this example has synthetic red body covering, a 22-inch scale, and a 20-fret rosewood fingerboard, complete with pearl dot inlays.