MONARK SILVER KING SERIAL NUMBER ID

[axsepul]

well i got a monark, now i need to id it, its always good to know what you're riding.
i'm planning on doing this build using a skiptooth system so i need to know if monarks came with skiptooth system, so i wrote Leon Dixon from NBHAA.com and this is what he wrote to me "Monark-Silver King Company... they started making bicycles for 1934 model year. Yes they made bicycles with "skip tooth" (inch-pitch) but only in the very early years" and "

• MONARK and SILVER KING were two different brands.
• No bicycle made by this company after 1935 had an inch-pitch chain. In fact, their slogan was that they had "speed chains" (HALF-inch pitch).
• There is no single 1934 model... there were several. AND... a 1934 model would NOT be a MONARK... it would be a SILVER KING... which also means it would only have been an aluminum bicycle.
• YES, we have ALL Monark and Silver King original catalogues. We have standard research fees for making copies which are normally included in Official Detailed NBHAA Report." end of quote. i'm now waiting to see if he can tell me what year my frame is. here are pictures of my frame

if you have a monark and you know the year place a picture here with its serial number, maybe we'll start a monark-silver king serial database!!!

 

[Rustinkerer]

There's a list of Monark serial #s in the "NBJ Introduction to classic bicycles book covering 1934-54. The last #s on the list is 1911106, so yours would likely be a 55-7 frame. In late '57, Monark was sold to Huffy, so 58 up are at best a mix of parts, with later models identical to Huffy. As far as Silver King, they were a separate co. who merged with Monark in the early 30s. If I remember correctly, there were early models badged as Silver Kings, and there was a 1955 middleweight line badged as SK's. Sk was aslo used in the Huffy era. Consider yourself lucky not to be berated by LD and his NBHAA! While fairly knowledgeable, his caustic personality and self assumed know it all status are LEGENDARY! -Adam

 

[axsepul]

thanks!! where can i get that book?

this is the last email i got from nbhaa.com
"We cannot go to 3rd party web sites and links to view photos... we clearly state this in the FAQ section of NBHAA.com. We have to SEE the photo direct.
And NO... the company did NOT start out as "Silver King". It started out as Monark Battery Company.Their first bicycle line was "Silver King"... made of aluminum. LATER, they became the Monark-Silver King Company and morphed into other names. AGAIN, MONARK and SILVER KING were two different brands. The frame you have is a MONARK.... NOT a Monark Silver King.
Yes, there IS a bicycle and motorcycle and exerciser company in Sweden ... and NO they have no connection at all to American Monark-Silver King, Inc.
THere is something wrong with the numbers you provided. THere should be a MODEL number and a SERIAL number."
i replied with direct pictures but let see what he says!!!

so i ask, did monark drop the silver king name because he says they're two different companies?

 

[Tailwinds]

It's weird, NBHAA's response is vague or contradictory.
I had a 1955 Brigadier model that had factory decals with both Monark and Silver King on it.

 

[Rustinkerer]

It's weird, NBHAA's response is vague or contradictory.
I had a 1955 Brigadier model that had factory decals with both Monark and Silver King on it.

According to my book, the Monark Battery Co. introduced a bicycle line in Oct. 1934 with the Silver King badge. A 1935 ad says "Monark Silver King Inc" at the bottom. The Monark badge was introduced in 1938 for their new "Super Frame" lineup, using steel frames. All the original SK's had aluminum frames. I don't think they made any Aluminum Sk's after WW2. Monark did have a line of Silver King chainsaws and REotomatic lawn mowers in the 50s. They revived the SK badge for the 1955 middleweight line. The "Monark Book" is produced by NBJ, aka Newsletter By John, one of the original vintage bike sources. You can get most of the NBJ books at the Cabe (Classic & Antique Bicycle Exchange) site's bookstore. And, Classic Bicycle News is working on their own Monark book which is supposed to come out fairly soon. The NBJ books are mostly photocopies, while CBN's are reprinted from original ads. -Adam

 

[axsepul]

i like all the info!!! this is great. i had all these questions because i've seen ads from 46 to 49 on ebay and they all say monark silver king. i've also seen ads from the 50's with the monark silver king badge, the only difference is that from what i've seen the bikes on the ads from the 50's have the head badge shroud.

1947 ad i bought on ebay

40's headbadge

50's headbadge

also i have notice that the headlight on the front fender is different from the 40's to the 50's, the fenders also look different, the ones from the 50's look bigger and deeper. also i read somewhere that some of the bikes in 52 and 53 came with the schwinn style springer fork then in 54 all the bikes came out with the schwinn style springer fork. is that true?

50's front

1949 ad with the headbadge shroud but with 40's style headlight

 

[Rustinkerer]

i like all the info!!! this is great. i had all these questions because i've seen ads from 46 to 49 on ebay and they all say monark silver king. i've also seen ads from the 50's with the monark silver king badge, the only difference is that from what i've seen the bikes on the ads from the 50's have the head badge shroud.

50's headbadge

also i have notice that the headlight on the front fender is different from the 40's to the 50's, the fenders also look different, the ones from the 50's look bigger and deeper. also i read somewhere that some of the bikes in 52 and 53 came with the schwinn style springer fork then in 54 all the bikes came out with the schwinn style springer fork. is that true?

50's front

1949 ad with the headbadge shroud but with 40's style headlight

The shroud was only used on the Super Deluxe model, top of the line. They had the deep fenders, vertical springer, cheese grater rear rack, and rear reflector/bumper. The SD was updated slightly in 1950, replacing the pedestal light with the train light. And, the separate reflector/bumper was replaced by a one piece part. They changed the springer and chainguard design for 1953, and introduced the Holiday model, with woodgrain decals on the guard and tank. Monark made their last balloon tire models in 54. 1957 ads for the middleweight Bearcat show the twin springer, so they did use it again. And, going back to the OP, I did find that the SK "hex tube" model was available in 47, so that was probably the last aluminum SK.