Yashica Mystery – what is it and what does it mean?

June 23, 2019Chris and Carol

Contributor and Yashica aficionado, Graham Buxton-Smither posted this picture in my Flickr Group, https://www.flickr.com/groups/2734130@N24/pool/ the other day asking if I’d ever seen this type of serial number on a Yashica TL Electro X (pro-black body) before. I haven’t so I thought it would be good to broadcast it in this blog in hopes of discovering something about it.

Serial number with its odd two letter prefix ‘FI’. Photo courtesy of Graham Buxton-Smither https://www.flickr.com/photos/164456136@N06/

The serial number itself is unremarkable in the sense that it follows along with the standard for a Yashica SLR. It decodes to December 1969 as the manufacture date. The ‘FI’ has no previous use that I’m aware of so it was a surprise to see it. Graham states that it is on a one owner Yashica TL Electro X purchased in the UK when new. It appears to be a factory mark as the black paint looks undisturbed.

I’m stumped as there isn’t an example anywhere in my databases. I can’t even fathom a guess at this point.

Any help including guesses will be appreciated.

Thanks – Chris

4 thoughts on “Yashica Mystery – what is it and what does it mean?”

Mich Vraa says:

September 9, 2019 at 11:53 am

Just checked my own Yashica TL Electro X ITS which I bought slightly used in 1974. It has number 0919887, but not the “FI”.

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1. Chris and Carol says:
  
  September 9, 2019 at 12:03 pm
  
  Thanks for checking and providing the update! Your camera was made in September 1970 by decoding the serial number.
  At this point, I’ve still no clue as to the meaning of the “FI”.
  
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Fabio says:

March 13, 2022 at 2:52 pm

I have a TL electro X with the same FI prefix. The serial number is “FI 91036474”, so produced just 2 month before the one in the original post. It’s a black paint too, not marked as ITS, with the gothic Y on the front and time knob flat with white numbers for high speeds, yellow number for slow speeds and a red x on the 125 sinc for the flash. Unfortunatly is in good external shape but the shutter unit is so sticky to be 100% unreliable. I have an other “normal” ITS and i’m thinking to use it as a donor for the shutter unit, since i think it’s a shame for a unit so intriguing not to be in working order
(Sorry for my bad english)

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Chris and Carol says:

March 14, 2022 at 7:31 am

Thanks for sharing that as it’s important to know if something is a one off or part of a bigger trend. You didn’t say where your camera may have been originally purchased since Graham’s is from the UK. – Chris

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