This is undoubtably the 16th saxophone made in this country. Conn bought the Fisk factory in Worchester, Massachusetts, in 1887 and a year later made the first saxoophone in America. This is one is numbered 16. It is one of the most beautiful saxophones that I have ever laid eyes on. It is gold plated with about 95% of the plating intact, and the 25 leaves on the bell are all silver plated. The engraving is superb. The bow is engraved along with the bow guard. There is not a single dent in the bow. The greatest flaw is that it was made with a double octave key system. Sometime in its history it was changed over to an automatic system. This was done very, very, well, maybe even in the Conn factory. It plays to high F and low Bb. The bis key button may be a later addition. Very little of the gold plate is worn off. There is one little dent on the bell just above the joint between the bow and bell. It reads on the bell: "Made by C. G. Conn Elkhart Indiana and Worchester, Mass." One must look very hard to find the number 16 just above where the bell is attached to the bow among the flowers. There are pearls on all the front keys, the G#, and the low C & Eb. It is ready to play with new pads but you cannot take it on a gig unless it is a HP band as the instrument is high pitched. One is amazed at how modern this early saxophone is. It has features that Conn did not use again for fifty years.