Alembic
The first 2 numbers of the serial number correspond to the year it was
built. There may also be present a letter code designating a certain model. The latter
digits indicate the individual instrument and its place in production.
American Archtops
The digits after the dash in the serial number are the year that the
guitar was made in.
Tom Anderson
The neck plate of each guitar has the date it was completed along with the
letters A,N or P which stands for a.m., noon or p.m.
Arpeggio Korina
The first 2 numbers (they will have a space between them) are the year of
manufacture, then a 0, then the production number for that year.
Benedetto
Benedetto archtops have a 4 or 5 digit serial number ..the last 2 digits
in the # are the year in which the instrument was made .. the digits in front of the last
2 are the instruments place in production...
G.S.Brandt
The year is on the label inside of the guitar - you can also use a mirror
to read the inside of the top of the guitar which is signed and dated...
Breedlove
On the label, inside of the guitar - the first two numbers of the serial
number is the year the instrument was made.
Buscarino
The last two digits of the serial number is the year in which the guitar
was made in.
M. Campellone
The first three digits of the serial number are the sequence of production
- the next two are the month - the last two are the year in which the guitar was made.
Carvin
From 1964 thru 1968 Carvin Guitars Do Not Have serial numbers...then in
1970 they started off with number 5000...
| Year |
Serial # |
| 1970 |
5000 |
| 1980-1983 |
11,000 - 13,000 |
| 1983-1984 |
13,001 - 15,000 |
| 1985-1986 |
17,000 - 20,000 |
| 1988-1989 |
22,000 - 25,000 |
| 1989-1991 |
26,000 - 33,000 |
| 1992-???? |
35,000- ???? |
Top of Page
Citron
The first two digits of the serial number is the month in which the guitar was
made...the second two digits are the year in which the guitar was made.
Collings
The date is on the label on the inside of the guitar.
Comins
The date is on the label on the inside of the guitar.
Charles Cote' Basses
Before 1995 Charles Cote' Basses Do Not Have Serial Numbers...starting in 1995 each
bass has a 5 digit serial # ..the first 2 #'s are the year in which it was manufactured ..
the last three #'s are the sequence in manufacturing of that year.
Danelectro
Most Danelectro serial #'s have 4 digits .. the first 2 are the week of completion..the
last digit is the year.
D'Angelico
John D'Angelico built 1,164 guitars, all by hand .. the first few had no serial #'s.
Year - Serial #
1932- 1005-1097
1934
1936- 1105-1235
1937 - 1234-1317
1938 - 1318-1385
1939 - 1388-1456
1940 - 1457-1508
1941 - 1509-1562
1942 - 1563-1621
1943 - 1622-1658 |
Year - Serial #
1944 - 1659-1681
1945 - 1682-1702
1946 - 1703-1740
1947 - 1738-1781
1948 - 1782-1804
1949 - 1805-1831
1950 - 1832-1855
1951 - 1856-1885
1952 - 1886-1908
1953 - 1909-1936 |
Year - Serial #
1954 - 1933-1962
1955 - 1961-1988
1956 - 1989-2017
1957 - 2018-2040
1958 - 2041-2067
1959 - 2068-2098
1960 - 2099-2122
1961-64 - 2123-2164
1965-66 - 2212-2214 |
Top of Page
D'Aquisto
| Year - Serial # 1965 - 1001-1005
1966 - 1006-1014
1967 - 1015-1022
1968 - 1023-1029
1969 - 1030-1036
1970 - 1037-1043
1971 - 1044-1050 |
Year - Serial # 1972 - 1051-1063
1973 - 1064-1073
1974 - 1074-1084
1975 - 1085-1094
1976 - 1095-1102
1977 - 1103-1112
1978 - 1113-1125 |
Year - Serial # 1979 - 1126-1133
1980 - 1134-1142
1981 - 1143-1151
1982 - 1152-1160
1983 - 1161-1164
1984 - 1166-1175 |
Year - Serial # 1985 - 1176-1183
1986 - 1185-1192
1987 - 1193-1202
1988 - 1201-1210
1989 - 1211-1217
1990 - 1218-1228 |
Dean
Dean guitars made in the USA have a 7 digit serial number .. the first 2 numbers are
the year of manufacture ..the remaining numbers are the production numbers. ..this does
not apply to Dean imported guitars (no year in the serial number..consult an expert or
call Dean for the year of manufacture).
Dobro / Regal
Year - Serial #
1928 - 900-1700
1929 - 1800-2000
1930-1931 - 3000
1932-1933 - 5000-5500
1934-1936 - 5700-7600
1937 - 8000-9000 |
B prefix on most 1931-1932 Cyclops models. Regal (OMI - 1970 on) .. 1970-1979
"D" or "B" followed by 3 or 4 digits (ranking) & last number
(year) .. "B" = Metal .. "D"= Wood
1980-1987 the number before the letter is the year. 1988 on the last 2 numbers
are the year.
Eisele
Get a mirror and look at the underside of the top of the guitar for the date.
English
The date is on the label on the inside of the guitar.
Top of Page
Epiphone
Epiphone started in 1928 making banjos and was family owned for years .. then it was
sold to C.G.Conn company .. then back to the original family .. then were made by Gibson
Guitar ...and were American made until approx. 1970 ..then production was moved to Japan
and later Korea.
Year - Serial #
1930-1932 - 10,000 series
1932 - 5000
1933 - 6000
1934 - 7000
1935 - 8000-9000
1936 - 10,000
1937 - 11,000
1938 - 12,000 |
Year - Serial #
1939-1940 - 13,000
1941-1942 - 14,000
1943 - 18,000
1944 - 19,000; 51,000-52,000
1945 - 52,000-54,000
1946 - 54,000-55,000
1947 - 56,000
1948 - 57,000 |
Year - Serial #
1949 - 58,000
1950 - 59,000
1951 and some 1930's - 60,000-63,000
1952 - 64,000
1953 - 64,000-66,000
1954 - 68,000
1955-1957 - 69,000 |
Epiphone Made By Gibson 1958-1961
Year - Serial #
1958 - A-1000
1959 - A-2000
1960-1961 - A3000/A4000 |
Fender
Year - Serial #
1950-1954 - Up to 6,000
1954-1956 - Up to 10,000
-4 or 5 digits (inc 0 or - prefix)
1955-1956 - 10,000 -" " " "
1957 - 10,000-20,000
5 or 6 digits (inc 0 or - prefix)
1958 - 20,000-30,000 -" "
1959 - 30,000-40,000 |
Year - Serial #
1960 - 40,000-50,000
1961 - 50.000-70,000
1962 - 60,000-90,000
1963 - 80,000-90,000
1963 - Up to L10,000
L + 5 digits...(beginning of
the infamous "L" Series)
1963 - L10,000-L20,000 |
Year -Serial #
1964 - L20,000-L50,000
1965 - L50,000-L90,000
1965 - 100,000
1966-1967 - 100,000-200,000
1968 - 200,000
1969-1970 - 200,000-300,000
1971-1972 - 300,000 |
Year - Serial #
1973 - 300,000-500,000
1974-1975 - 400,000-500,000
1976 - 500,000-700,000
1976 - 76 or S6 + 5 digits
1977 - S7 or S8 + 5 digits
1978 - S7, S8 or S9 + 5 digits |
Year - Serial #
1979 - S9 or E0 + 5 digits
1980-1981 - S9, E0
or E1 + 5 digits
1982 - E1,E2 or E3 + 5 digits
1983 - E2 or E3 + 5 digits
1984 - E3 or E4 + 5 digits
1987 - E4 + 5 digits |
Year - Serial #
1988 - E4 or E8 + 5 digits
1989 - E4 or E8 + 5 digits
1990 - E8 or N9 + 5 digits
1990 - N0 + 5 digits
1991 - N1 + 5/6 digits
1992 - N2 + 5/6 digits |
Top of Page
Froggy Bottom
The month and year that the guitar was made will be on the label on the inside of the
guitar.
G & L
"G" is for Guitar..."B" is for Bass..."BC" is for
Broadcaster.
| Year - Serial # 1980 - G000530 -B000518
1981 - G003122 -B001917
1982 - G009886 -B008525
1983 - G011654 -B010382
1984 - G013272 -B014266 |
Year - Serial # 1985 - G014690 -B016018
1986 - G017325 -B017691
1987 - G020241 -B018063
1988 - G023725 -B019627 |
Year - Serial # 1989 - G024983 -B020106
1990 - G026344 -B021788
1991 - G027163 -B023013
1992 - G029962 -B024288 |
Gibson
| Year - Serial # 1903 - 1500
1904 - 2500
1905 - 3500
1906 - 5500
1907 - 8300
1908 - 9700
1909 - 10,100
1910 - 10,600 |
Year - Serial # 1911 - 10,850
1912 - 13,350
1913 - 16,100
1914 - 20,150
1915 - 25,150
1916 - 32,000
1917 - 39,500
1918 - 47,900 |
Year - Serial # 1919 - 53,800
1920 - 63,650
1921 - 69,300
1922 - 71,400
1923 - 74,900
1924 - 81,200
1925 - 82,700
1926 - 83,600 |
| Year - Serial # 1927 - 85,400
1928 - 87,300
1929 - 89,750
1930 - 90,200
1931 - 90,450
1932 - 90,700
1933 - 91,400 |
Year - Serial # 1934 - 92,300
1935 - 92,800
1936 - 94,100
1937 - 95,200
1938 - 95,750
1939 - 96,050
1940 - 96,600 |
Year - Serial # 1941 - 97,400
1942 - 97,700
1943 - 97,850
1944 - 98,250
1945 - 98,650
1946 - 99,300
1947 - 99,999 |
(A-Series from 1947-1961)
| Year - Serial # 1947 - A1304
1948 - A2665
1949 - A4413
1950 - A6597
1951 - A9419 |
Year - Serial # 1952 - A12,462
1953 - A16,101
1954 - A18,667
1955 - A21,909
1956 - A24,755 |
Year - Serial # 1957 - A26,819
1958 - A28,880
1959 - A32,284
1960 - A35,645
1961 - A36,147 |
Epiphone A-Series ..1958-1961 (see section of the Dating Service)
| Year - Serial # 1958 - A1000
1959 - A2000
1960-1961 - A3000-A4222 |
Gibson serial #'s 1961-1969...(various models)
Year - Serial #
1961 - 100-42,440
1962 - 42,441-61,180
1963 - 61,450-64,222
1964 - 64,240-70,501
1962 - 71,180-96,600 |
Year - Serial #
1963 - 96,601-99,999
1967 - 000001-099999
1963-1967 -100,000-106,099
1963 - 106,100-106,899
1963-1967 -109,000-1,099,999 |
Year - Serial #
1963 - 110,000-111,549
1963-1967 - 111,550-115,799
1963 - 115,800-118,299
1963-1967 - 118,300-120,999
1963 - 121,000-139,999 |
Gibsons 1960-1975 serial numbers overlap depending on the various models ..it is
best to contact an expert or Gibson with the model, color and serial # for accurate dating
.. a
simi-coherent serial# system returns in 1975 but still has a lot of overlapping depending
on the year and the model.
Gibson Serial Numbers 1975-1977... (1975 still has many overlaps)
| Year - Serial # Prefix 1975 - 99
1976 - 00
1977 - 06 |
Gibson Serial Numbers 1977 - to now
8 digit number : ydddynnn
yy (1st. & 5th. digit)= year of manufacture
dd. (digits 2-4)= day of year
nnn (digits 6-8)=daily # rank
Some Heritage and Vintage reissue have the vintage style serial
number.
Top of Page
Goodall
Look on the label inside of the sound hole for the date the guitar was
made.
Gretsch
Years 1965-1972 = the first 1 or 2 numbers = the month (1-12)...the next
number = the last number of the year...the rest of the numbers are the instruments number.
Years 1973-1981 = 1 or 2 numbers before the hyphen = the month
(1-12)...the first number after the hyphen = the last number of the year ... the rest of
the numbers are the instruments number.
Syncromatic Serial Numbers ... 1940-1949 = 007 - 900
Year - Serial #
1949-1950 - 3000
1951 - 4000-5000
1952 - 5000-8000
1953 - 9000-12,000
1954 - 12,000-16,000 |
Year - Serial #
1955 - 17,000-21,000
1957 - 22,000-26,000
1958 - 27,000-30,000
1959 - 30,000-34,000
1960 - 34,000-39,000 |
Year - Serial #
1961 - 39,000-45,000
1962 - 46,000-52,000
1963 - 53,000-63,000
1964 - 63,000-77,000
1964-early 1965 - 77,000-84,000 |
Guild
| Year - Serial # 1952 - 350
1953 - 840
1954 - 1526
1955 - 2468
1956 - 3830 |
Year - Serial # 1957 - 5712
1958 - 8348
1959 - 12035
1960 - 14713 |
Year - Serial # 1961 - 18419
1962 - 22722
1963 - 28943
1964 - 38636 |
From 1965 thru 1969 Guild Guitars had different serial numbers for different models of
instruments...then in 1970 they changed back to the original system or serial numbers.
| Year - Serial # 1970 - 50978
1971 - 61463
1972 - 75602 |
Year - Serial # 1973 - 95496
1974 - 112803
1975 - 130304 |
Year - Serial # 1976 - 149625
1977 - 169867
1978 - 195067 |
1979 - 211877... up until 9-30-79...then they changed back to a different series of
serial numbers per model again.
Hollenbeck
Read the label on the inside of the guitar for the date.
Ibanez
In dating Ibanez guitars made before 1987 .. the first letter is the month ( A is Jan.,
B is Feb, C is March..etc) the next two numbers are the year .. the next four numbers are
the production number that month (they only produced 9999 pieces each month)..(example)
...C760287 = March 1976 the 287th. piece made.
In dating Ibanez guitars made after 1987 .. the letter is now the factory designation
.. the first number is the year built ... the next five numbers are the production number
of the piece for the year ..(example) .. F700015 = the 15th. guitar made in 1987.
Top of Page
Lacey
The date that the guitar was made will be on the truss rod cover.
Langejans
The date that the guitar was made is on the label inside of the sound hole.
Bill Lawrence
The first two numbers of the serial number are the year that the guitar was made in -
then a letter for the month (A=Jan., B=Feb., C=March, etc) then comes the guitars place in
production.
C.F. Martin
| Year - Serial # 1898 - 8343
1899 - 8716
1900 - 9125
1901 - 9310
1902 - 9528
1903 - 9810
1904 - 9988
1905 - 10,120
1906 - 10,329
1907 - 10,727
1908 - 10,883
1909 - 11,018
1910 - 11,203
1911 - 11,413
1912 - 11,565
1913 - 11,821
1914 - 12,047
1915 - 12,209
1916 - 12,390
1917 - 12,988
1918 - 13,450
1919 - 14,512
1920 - 15,848
1921 - 16,758
1922 - 17,839 |
Year - Serial # 1923 - 19,891
1924 - 22,008
1925 - 24,116
1926 - 28,689
1927 - 34,435
1928 - 37,568
1929 - 40,843
1930 - 45,317
1931 - 49,589
1932 - 52,590
1933 - 55,084
1934 - 58,679
1935 - 61,947
1936 - 65,176
1937 - 68,865
1938 - 71,667
1939 - 74,061
1940 - 76,734
1941 - 80,013
1942 - 83,107
1943 - 86,724
1944 - 90,149
1945 - 93,623
1946 - 98,158
1947 - 103,468 |
Year - Serial # 1948 - 108,269
1949 - 112,961
1950 - 117,961
1951 - 122,799
1952 - 128,436
1953 - 134,501
1954 - 141,345
1955 - 147,328
1956 - 152,775
1957 - 159,061
1958 - 165,576
1959 - 171,047
1960 - 175,689
1961 - 181,297
1962 - 187,384
1963 - 193,327
1964 - 199,626
1965 - 207,030
1966 - 217,215
1967 - 230,095
1968 - 241,925
1969 - 256,003
1970 - 271,633
1971 - 294,270
1972 - 313,302 |
Year - Serial # 1973 - 333,873
1974 - 353,387
1975 - 371,828
1976 - 388,800
1977 - 399,625
1978 - 407,800
1979 - 419,900
1980 - 430,300
1981 - 436,474
1982 - 439,627
1983 - 446,101
1984 - 453,300
1985 - 460,575
1986 - 468,175
1987 - 476,216
1988 - 483,952
1989 - 493,279
1990 - 503,309
1991 - 512,487
1992 - 522,655
1993 - 535,223
1994 - 551,696
1995 - 570,434 |
Top of Page
McCollum
Look at the inside of the top for the date of the guitar with a mirror.
McKerrihan Archtops
Look on the inside of the guitar ...it will be signed and dated ...on solid bodys look
under the neck pickup.
Megas
The date is on the label inside of the guitar.
Mortoro
The last two numbers in the serial number are the year of the guitar- unless the guitar
is a 7 or 8 string in which case there will be an extra number on the end of the serial
number (the second and third numbers from the end of the serial number would be the year
of the guitar if its a 7 or 8 string).
Paul Reed Smith
The first digit of the serial number is the last digit of the year in which the guitar
was made.
Rarebird
Beginning in 1976, some of the early models have an eagle on the headstock with a 6
digit serial number that stands for the "Day-Month-Year" of the instrument
(DDMMYY).
In 1988 they switched to a 4 digit serial number .. the first 2 numbers are the
sequence in production the last 2 numbers are the year of manufacture.
Ribbecke
Look on the label for the date + the first two digits of the serial number are usually
the year.
Top of Page
Rickenbacker
Serial numbers 1960 - 1986 = the year is the first letter, the month is the second
letter...
Serial numbers 1986-1995 = the year is the number after the letter..the letter is the
month ...
| Year - Letter 1961 -A
1962 -B
1963 -C
1964 -D
1965 -E
1966 -F
1967 -G
1968 -H
1969 -I |
Year - Letter 1970 -J
1971 -K
1972 -L
1973 -M
1974 -N
1975 -O
1976 -P
1977 -Q
1978 -R |
Year - Letter 1979 -S
1980 -T
1981 -U
1982 -V
1983 -W
1984 -X
1985 -Y
1986 -Z |
Month - Code Jan- A
Feb- B
Mar.- C
Aprl- D
May- E
June- F
July- G
Aug- H
Sept- I
Oct- J
Nov- K
Dec- L |
Year - Number 1987- 0
1988 -1
1989 -2
1990 -3
1991 -4
1992 -5
1993 -6
1994 -7 |
Sadowski
Inside of the control panel is the date in which the guitar was made.
Shanti
Use a mirror to read just behind the last tone bar on the inside of the top of the
instrument which is signed and dated.
Stromberg
The Strombergs (Charles and Elmer) made approximately 640 instruments up until 1955
when they both died. They used their business cards as labels in the guitars, the
telephone number on the card helps to determine the approximate year the instrument was
made.
| Year - Phone # on the Card 1920-1927...Bowdoin
1728R or 1728M
1927-1929...Bowdoin 6559W or 1242W
1929-1932...Bowdoin 1878R
1932-1945...CA 3174
1949-1955...CA 7-3174 |
Top of Page
Taylor
Starting in 1974 ...the first two digits in the serial number is the year that the
instrument was manufactured.
Rick Turner
The first two digits in the serial number is the year in which the guitar was made.
Washburn
George Washburn started making guitars in 1864 .. the company has changed hands many
times since then ..Washburn guitars had a fire sometime in the 1920's that destroyed
everything, including all records and paperwork that they had prior to the day of the fire
... then the same thing happened again in the 1950's !!
From 1988 on ... on some models (but not all) - the first two digits of the serial
number is the year the guitar was made.
On all limited editions ..the year will be in the "Model Name" of the guitar
... (example) ..."D-95 LTD" = 1995 ..."D-92LTD" = 1992 ...etc...
Xotic
The first digit of the serial number is the year in which the guitar was made.
Top of Page |
