We often get asked: how old is my guitar? Well, determining the age of an electric or acoustic guitar is usually easy if you know where to look. Sometimes there is a birth certificate hidden inside the soundhole, but not always. Let us tell you where to look and what to look for. Dating an Electric guitar with a serial number To determine the age of your guitar, you'll need to look for the serial number. However, finding this number can be quite a challenge. Sometimes it's simply located on the headstock or on the label inside the soundhole. But other times, it may be cleverly hidden at the end of the neck on the heel block of the guitar. This varies depending on the brand. That's why we'll explain where to find the serial number for major guitar brands like Fender, Gibson, Martin, Taylor and Eastman as well as what those numbers actually mean. In this blog you can read more about finding out the year of construction of electric guitars. How old is my Fender guitar? Since 1976, Fender has been placing most of the serial numbers for guitars made in the United States on the headstock of the instrument. Usually on the back, but sometimes on the front. The number usually starts with a letter indicating the decade:: S = 1970's E = 1980's, N = 1990's, Z = 2000's (sometimes DZ, for the Deluxe serie) 76 + 5 digits 1976 N8 + 5 or 6 digits 1998 - 1999 S6 + 5 digits 1976 N9 + 5 or 6 digits 1999 - 2000 S7 + 5 digits 1977 - 1978 Z0 + 5 or 6 digits 2000 - 2001 S8 + 5 digits 1978 Z2 + 5 or 6 digits 2001 - 2002 S9 + 5 digits 1978 - 1979 Z3 + 5 or 6 digits 2003 - 2004 E0 + 5 digits 1979 - 1981 Z4 + 5 or 6 digits 2004 - 2005 E1 + 5 digits 1980 - 1982 Z5 + 5 or 6 digits 2005 - 2006 E2 + 5 digits 1982 - 1983 Z6 + 5 or 6 digits 2006 - 2007 E3 + 5 digits 1982 - 1985 Z7 + 5 or 6 digits 2007 - 2008 E4 + 5 digits 1984 - 1988 Z8 + 5 or 6 digits 2008 - 2009 E8 + 5 digits 1988 - 1989 Z9 + 5 or 6 digits 2009 - 2010 E9 + 5 digits 1989 - 1990 US10 + 6 digits 2010 N0 + 5 digits 1990 - 1991 US11 + 6 digits 2011 N0 + 5 digits 1990 - 1991 US12 + 6 digits 2012 N1 + 5 or 6 digits 1991 - 1992 US13 + 6 digits 2013 N2 + 5 or 6 digits 1992 - 1993 US14 + 6 digits 2014 N3 + 5 or 6 digits 1993 - 1994 US15 + 6 digits 2015 N4 + 5 or 6 digits 1994 - 1995 US16 + 6 digits 2016 N5 + 5 or 6 digits 1995 - 1996 US17 + 6 digits 2017 N6 + 5 or 6 digits 1996 - 1997 US18 + 6 digits 2018 N7 + 5 or 6 digits 1997 - 1998 US19 + 6 digits 2019 Important notice! This number only applies to Fender guitars made in the USA. Since the '90s, guitars from Mexico and other places have also been released. Different numbering applies to those guitars. Exceptions with Fender guitars There are many exceptions with these serial numbers, such as the American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) series. These have serial numbers that start with V and deviate from the year in which the guitars were made. Additionally, Fender has released many special or limited editions over the years with different serial numbers. Fender Serial Number Finder can help determine the age of the guitar. What year was my vintage Fender guitar made The older a guitar, the harder it can be to determine exactly how old it is. On the very first Esquires and Telecasters the number was in the bridge (from 0 to about 999). After that, the number moved to the ‘Neck Plate’ that connects the neck to the body. From 1963, an L was briefly placed in front of the number and from 1965, the unmistakable F Logo appeared in the neck plate. From 1965, those Fender guitars were given the following numbers: 00000 to 110000 1965 300000 to 340000 1971 110000 to 200000 1966 340000 to 370000 1972 200000 to 210000 1967 370000 to 520000 1973 210000 to 250000 1968 500000 to 580000 1974 250000 to 280000 1969 580000 to 690000 1975 280000 to 300000 1970 690000 to 750000 1976 Of course Fender also made guitars before 1965, but then you end up in the top category of vintage guitars. Collector's items with a matching price tag. There is often data on parts such as neck, body and 'potentiometers' that can help with dating. You can of course be lucky, but the chance that you will come across a real one in the wild is small. Because that data often only says something about when the part was made, and that does not say everything about the guitar as a whole. In addition, the condition of this type of vintage guitars is decisive. So don't draw too big conclusions if you come across something like this and if in doubt, ask for expert advice. Over the years we have seen, played, traded, bought, heard, appraised and repaired dozens of vintage Fender guitars! Our Fellows are happy to help you! How old is my Gibson guitar? Since 1977, Gibson has been placing a serial number on the back of both acoustic and electric guitars, on the headstock. You can determine the age of your guitar directly from this serial number, as it consists of 8 or 9 digits with the following information: YDDDYRRR First digit: decade (Y) in which the Gibson guitar was made. Second to fourth digits: day of the year (DDD) on which the Gibson guitar was made. Fifth digit: year (Y) in which the Gibson guitar was made. Sixth digit: Since 2005, Gibson USA switched to a 9-digit serial number. The sixth digit (B) now represents the 'batch' number. Last three digits: factory and 'factory ranking' number(RRR) Don't feel like puzzling? Here a handy tool to help you date your Gibson guitar (up until 1977): What year was my vintage Gibson guitar made? Dating Gibson guitars prior to 1977 can be a bit tricky, mainly because the company used different systems before that time. For instance, in 1975, the serial number started with '06', in 1976 with '00', and in 1977 with '99'.From 1970 to 1975, Gibson used a messy mix of numbers and digits that doesn't follow much logic: Number Year Letter: Year 0XXXXX 1973 XXXXXX + A 1970 1XXXXX 1970-1975 A + XXXXXX 1973, 1974, 1975 2XXXXX 1973-1975 B + XXXXXX 1974, 1975 3XXXXX 1974-1975 C + XXXXXX 1974, 1975 4XXXXX 1974-1975 D + XXXXXX 1974, 1975 5XXXXX 1974-1975 E + XXXXXX 1974, 1975 6XXXXX 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 F + XXXXXX 1974, 1975 7XXXXX 1970, 1971, 1972 8XXXXX 1973, 1974, 1975 9XXXXX 1970, 1971, 1972 From 1961 to 1970, Gibson once again had a somewhat messy system with partially overlapping and numbers used throughout the years: Year Numbers: Year Numbers: 1961 100-42440 1967 370000-370999 1962 42441-61180 1966 380000-385309 1963 61450-64220 1967 390000-390998 1964 64240-70500 1965-68 400001-400999 1962 71180-96600 1966 401000-407985 1963 96601-99999 1966 408000-408690 1967 000001-008010 1966 408800-409250 1967 010000-042900 1966 420000-426090 1967 044000-044100 1966 427000-429180 1967 050000-054400 1966 430005-438530 1967 055000-063999 1966 438800-438925 1967 064000-066010 1965-66, 1968-69 500000-500999 1967 0670000-070910 1965 501010-501600 1967 090000-099999 1968 501601-501702 1963, 1967 100000-106099 1965, 1968 501703-502706 1963 106100-108900 1968 503010-503110 1963, 1967 1090000-109999 1965, 1968 503405-520955 1963 110000-111549 1968 520956-530056 1963, 1967 111550-115799 1966, 1968-69 530061-530850 1963 115800-118299 1968-69 530851-530993 1963, 1967 118300-120999 1969 530994-539999 1963 121000-139999 1969 540796-545009 1963, 1967 140000-140100 1966 550000-556910 1963 140101-144304 1969 558012-567400 1964 144305-144380 1966 570099-570755 1963 144381-145000 1969 580000-580999 1963 147009-149864 1966-69 600000-600999 1964 149865-149891 1969 601000-601090 1963 149892-152989 1969 605901-606090 1964 152990-174222 1966-67 700000-700799 1964, 1965 174223-176643 1968-69 750000-750999 1964 176644-199999 1966-69 800000-800999 1964 200000-250335 1966, 1969 801000-812838 1965 250336-291000 1969 812900-814999 1965 301755-302100 1969 817000-819999 1965 302754-305983 1966, 1969 820000-820087 1965, 1967 306000-306100 1966 820088-823830 1965, 1967 307000-307985 1969 824000-824999 1965, 1967 309848-310999 1966, 1969 828002-847488 1965 311000-320149 1966 847499-858999 1967 320150-320699 1967 859001-880089 1965 320700-321100 1967 893401-895038 1965 322000-326600 1968 895039-896999 1965 328000-328500 1967 897000-898999 1965 328700-329179 1968 899000-899999 1965, 1967 329180-330199 1968 900000-902250 1965, 1967-68 330200-332240 1968 903000-920899 1965 332241-327090 1968 940000-941009 1965 348000-348092 1968 942001-943000 1966 348093-349100 1968 945000-945450 1965 349121-368638 1968 947415-956000 1966 368640-369890 1968 959000-960909 1968 970000-972864 From 1947 to 1961, Gibson used an 'A' in their numbering system: Year till number (approx.)# 1955 A 21910 1947 A 1305 1956 A 24755 1948 A 2665 1957 A 26820 1949 A 4410 1958 A 28880 1950 A 6596 1959 A 32285 1951 A 9420 1960 A 34645 1952 A 12460 1961 A 36147 1953 A 17435 1954 A 18665 Exceptions with Gibson guitars Gibson has a rich history and has been making guitars since before 1947. But here you are in the exceptional category of vintage acoustic guitars. Here too, the (original) condition of the guitar is decisive for the value. In addition, there are many exceptions for Gibson guitars, so it is quite possible that your serial number is not listed here. Over the years we have seen, played, traded, bought, heard, appraised and repaired dozens of vintage Gibson guitars! Our Fellows are happy to help you!