Gibson Serial Number Lookup

Why Gibson is the hardest brand to date

Most serial number lookups will give you a single confident year for any Gibson you type in. For a guitar built between 1961 and 1970 that answer is often simply wrong, and the reason is not obscure: Gibson reused serial numbers. The same six digits were stamped on instruments built years apart.

We built this from Gibson’s own published formats together with the 1961 to 1970 tables kept by Carter Vintage Guitars, and then checked what the combined data actually says. Of the eighty published ranges covering that decade, twenty-eight resolve to more than one year, seven overlap each other outright, and one range, 500000 to 500999, could be 1965, 1966, 1968 or 1969. No amount of clever code fixes that, because the ambiguity is in Gibson’s factory records, not in the arithmetic.

So this tool returns every year the number could be, and then tells you what to look at on the guitar to settle it. That is how an actual vintage dealer answers the question.

1977 to today — the easy era

Eight or nine digits pressed into the back of the headstock with MADE IN USA below. The year is split: it is the first and fifth digits, not the first two. Digits two to four are the day of the year, and the rest is the factory ranking. From 2005 a batch digit sits in the sixth position. Between 2014 and mid 2019 Gibson dropped the day entirely and used only two year digits followed by a production number, then reverted.

1975 to 1977 — the decal years

An eight-digit number on a decal, dated by the first two digits, in an order that makes no sense until you know it: 99 is 1975, 00 is 1976, 06 is 1977. Sort those numerically and you will get the wrong answer every time.

1970 to 1975 — MADE IN USA, six digits

If MADE IN USA is stamped below a six-digit number, the guitar is from this period even when the number also appears in a 1960s range. Gibson’s published ranges here are wide, so expect a span of years rather than one.

1961 to 1970 — the reuse years

The hard part, and the reason this page exists. Numbers from 71041 to 96600 could be 1962, 1963 or 1964. Numbers from 100000 to 106099 are 1963 or 1967. Several ranges resolve to three or four candidate years. There is also a separate 1967 series written with a leading zero, which is why 099999 and 99999 are different guitars.

1952 to 1961 — ink-stamped solidbodies

Ink-stamped rather than pressed, and mercifully simple: the first digit is the last digit of the year. These are also, as a group, the most valuable electric guitars Gibson ever built, so if you have one, get eyes on it rather than trusting a web tool.

Factory Order Numbers and A-prefix numbers

Many older Gibsons carry a Factory Order Number instead of, or as well as, a serial. Acoustics and hollowbodies from 1947 to 1960 often carry an A-prefix number, which the tool reads. Custom Shop, reissue, Artist Signature, banjo and Epiphone instruments all use separate schemes, and Gibson asks people to contact them directly about signature models.

Common questions

Why does my Gibson serial number give several years?

Because Gibson reused serial numbers through the 1960s. It is a documented fact of their factory records, not a limitation of this tool. Twenty-eight of the eighty published ranges for 1961 to 1970 map to more than one year.

How do I tell which of the candidate years is right?

Look at the guitar rather than the number. Potentiometer date codes inside the control cavity are usually the most reliable evidence, followed by the headstock logo and inlay, the presence or absence of a volute behind the nut, neck profile and plastics. Send us photos and we will tell you.

Where is the serial number on a Gibson?

Usually on the back of the headstock, pressed in or on a decal. On many hollowbodies it is on a label inside the f-hole instead, and some older instruments carry only a Factory Order Number.

What does MADE IN USA under the serial mean?

On a six-digit number it places the guitar between 1970 and 1975, even if the number also appears in a 1960s range. On an eight-digit number it is part of the ordinary post-1977 format.

Do you have lookups for other brands?

Yes: Martin, Taylor and Guild. Every brand numbers its instruments differently, so each tool is built from that manufacturer’s own documentation.

Bring it in

We are at 316 East 84th Street in Manhattan, open Monday to Friday from noon to 8pm and Saturday from 10am to 8pm. We buy, sell, consign, set up and repair guitars. Call 646-559-8771.