I took my single row 4-stop apart, there were numbers on the reed blocks, 23 in green and 33 it looked like in black. Would these be the year it was built? It's a "C" accordion, someone gave it to me so I don't know the age.

No, those are batch numbers

First

Do you have a Wooden as opposed to plastic keyboard
Second on the ends of the keyboard is it rounded or:
are there horns.. recurves that extend
Next if the strap on the back hasn't been modified or replaced.. is itheld on with screws or rivets
Next.. on the reed plates are they stamped with an "H" or a "T"
Are the valves leather or plastic.
What is the pattern on the box.. be specific
Does it say anywhere on the box "Steel Reeds"
Is the key system stamped on the bottom end of the keyboard or the strap.. assuming it is original

El Jefe

Hey Jefe,

Mr. Ortego used to tell me that the best reeds were the ones with the H on them...they seemed to be darker in color (maybe had zinc in them?) as opposed to the brighter reeds with the T on them. He called the T reeds "tupelo" reeds. Ever heard of that? He said the darker H reeds were very similar to the Monarch/Sterling reeds that everyone in the old days really liked. What more do you know about the history of Hohner reeds?

The keyboard is plastic, the ends have horns I think, i.e. the recurves extend to the width of the box. By the strap do you mean the shoulder strap or the straps that hold the bellows shut? They ae held o with screws, there was no shoulder strap originally, and the thumb strap is leather and held on with a rivet. The box is gold with sort of a leaf design, on the back of the keyboard it says "Steel reeds on individual plates" with an anchor and "made by M. Hohner Germany". The Key is not stamped on the outside, and the valves have leather pads on them. I took the gold cover off the valves so it would be louder.

El Jefe meant for you to look for the key signature on the bass strap. I think that the older Hohner 114 boxes had a T on the reeds. The T standing for the German city in which they were made. Now I know I am spellling it wrong but anyway here is my spelling.
Throssingen, Germany.

Yep, that's it ---the bass strap has "C" on it and the reeds are "T". It's tuned pretty wet, but I'd probably leave it and just back off the stop a little which takes some of the wetness out.