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The very collectable Coronado line of Fenders were an interesting line introduced in 1966, and were the first of Roger Rossmeisl's designs for Fender. Rossmeisl, the son of a German luthier, had worked for Gibson in Michigan, then Rickenbacker in California, where he made some one-off custom guitars as well as designing the Capri and Combo ranges. He also influenced other guitar-makers, notably Mosrite of California. The Coronados were available as a Coronado I with a single pickup, and the Coronado II with two pickups. The Coronados were deleted from the Fender line in 1971. Interestingly, it was Rossmeisl, in collaboration with Fender's product manager, Virgilio 'Babe' Simoni, who came up with the Telecaster thinline in 1968, with its three hollowed-out chambers. Optional on the 60s Coronado series was a new vibrato tailpiece, which is present on this example, but the 'arm' is missing - apparently a vintage or US Reissue Jazzmaster or Jaguar bar is an excellent replacement (thanks Darrel!) The serial number on this extremely original example indicates a 1968 manufacture, about in the middle of the production years. However, after being contacted by an expert on these guitars who says "I believe you'll find a neck date stamp and possibly a pickup date stamp dating the guitar closer to late '66 to mid '67", we checked and found he was correct! In fact, the date stamp on the neck clearly shows July 1966 as the date of production (see the last photograph in the 'more pictures' link below). Yet another example of how unreliable Fender's serial numbers could be around this time! There are some minor markings to the body, and some stickers in the past have resulted in some lighter patches on the front of the body where the wood has not darkened as much from the sunlight. Other than that the guitar is remarkable for its condition - barely any wear to the frets, and all fittings are original. This vintage guitar comes with the non-original acoustic guitar case with which it was traded. Sold to Tim
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