Dating gibson guitars by serial number

From to , the logo was a thick golden script, known as the banner logo. The block logo debuted after WWII and remains the face of the company. There were minute changes to which letters were connected in the font between to , but the main logo had the same look. Gibson stopped dotting the i in their logo on some of their instruments. Most models get a dotted i again in , with the rest following suit from onward.

Aside from the logos, each era of manufacturing included certain identifying traits such as the hardware tuners, knobs, plates, etc. But not a final verdict. Many older instruments may have reproduction or other non-original parts, including a non-original finish.

This makes relying entirely on the physical features of a guitar potentially misleading. The thickness of the headstock, however, is not as vulnerable to modification or replacement. Before mid, most Gibson headstocks were thinner at the top when looked at from a side profile. After , headstocks had uniform thickness. Gibson has historically used two different alpha-numerical formats to catalog its instruments: serial numbers and FONs Factory Order Numbers.

Instruments will generally have one or both of these numbers stamped or written either inside the body generally the case on earlier models or on the back of the headstock. These will generally date an instrument earlier than the serial number, as they were typically applied in the early stages of assembly. Some earlier lower-end models had no serial number at all, making the FON the sole numerical identifier in those cases. A FON usually consisted of a 3-, 4-, or 5-digit batch number followed by one or two other numbers in most cases.

From to , the FON included a letter suffix. The consistency around this stopped during WWII and resumed in the early s. To complicate matters further, there was sometimes a second letter from to indicating the brand G for Gibson, K for Kalamazoo, W for Recording King and sometimes even a third letter indicating "Electric" the letter E.

The year is indicated by the first letter in any series of letters for these years. Throughout the war and even for some time after, each year had its own quirks around FON batch numbers and letters. From to , a consistent letter code resumed, with the letter appearing before the batch number. Below is a table of the the highest known number for each production year.

The orange labels inside hollow bodied instruments was discontinued in and were replaced by white and orange rectangle labels on the acoustics, and small black, purple and white rectangle labels were placed on electric models.

A few bolt on neck instruments had a date ink stamped on the heel area. In , Gibson first introduced the serialization method that is in practice today. This updated system utilizes an impressed eight digit numbering scheme that covers both serializing and dating functions.

The numbers show Kalamazoo production, show Nashville production. The Kalamazoo numbers were discontinued in Bozeman instruments began using designations and, in , Nashville instruments began using designations. It should also be noted that the Nashville plant has not reached the s since , so these numbers have been reserved for prototypes. Examples: means the instrument was produced on Jan. When the Nashville Gibson plant was opened in , it was decided that the bulk of the production of products would be run in the South; the Kalamazoo plant would produce the higher end fancier models in the North.

Certain guitar models built in the late s can be used to demonstrate the old-style 6 digit serial numbers. In the earlier years at Gibson, guitars were normally built in batches of 40 instruments. Thus, the older Gibson guitars may have a serial number and a F O N. The F O N may indicate the year, batch number, and the ranking order of production within the batch of This system is useful in helping to date and authenticate instruments.

There are three separate groupings of numbers that have been identified and are used for their accuracy. Examples are as follows: A 23 D 58 E In , a four digit F O N was used, but not in conjunction with any code letter indicating the year. From , the F O N scheme followed the pattern of a letter, the batch number and an instrument ranking number when the guitar was built in the run of Higher grade models such as the Super , L-5, J, etc. When both numbers are present on a higher grade model, remember that the F O N was assigned at the beginning of the production run, while the serial number was recorded later before shipping.

The serial number would properly indicate the actual date of the guitar. There are still some variances that Gibson uses on some instruments produced today, but for the most part the above can be used for identifying instruments. Luckily, the models in this era are incredibly distinct. This is by far the longest list Gibson ever used, as well. Each can be either five or six digits, growing in number as time goes on. The only serial numbers used this year range from to These are the easiest to date during this era, and the year with the least amount of models made.

Serial numbers for this year include anything from and numbers in the range as well. From here on out, numbers are often repeated, contain more than one year, or fall out of numerical order based on the year of production. These are the Gibson serial numbers from this era and the years they represent:.

For the 70s, Gibson decided to make things a little easier. Now, their serial numbers are featured in ascending order with six digits. You can check the first two to date your Gibson guitar. Gibson ditched their numerous dating systems of old in for a simpler model. Now, the first five digits correspond the production date. The first number indicates the decade, the second tells the day of the year, and the third reveals the which year in the decade the guitar was crafted.

You can determine the day by subtracting the middle three numbers from , then counting backward from December 31st. In , Gibson changed their modeling system once again. Now, serial numbers appear in ascending order with the first two numbers indicating the year. Anything starting with 14 would be , while current models feature an 18 for Both Reverb and Guitar World offer appraisals, helping you identify when your instrument was made and how much it is currently worth.

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