Hasselblad Dates
All Hasselbald cameras and film magazines can be dated as follows. Look for the two letter code
that is just before the serial number, and convert the letters to numbers using:
v h p i c t u r e s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
So a Hasselblad body that has TE before the serial number is a 69 or 1969.
VHPICTURES stands for Victor Hasselblad Pictures. This code is based on the Kodak Ektar
lens code of:
c a m e r o s i t y
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Kodak manufactured a variety of lenses and cameras over the years, and many of these products
have codes stamped on them which indicate the year of manufacture. The date codes are encoded
using the letters of a non-existent word, “camerosity,” to represent numerals.
My 80mm Ektar had ET before the serial number thus it was made in 1949.
Koday was an early investor in Victor Hasselblad in the 1940's. Kodak made the first
lenses for the Hasselblad 1600 in 1948 through 1952. Victor copied Kodak's dating scheme but used his own code.