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Gibson Epiphone Banjo Serial Numbers: A Comprehensive Database and Reference



This section is designed to assist in dating and/or identifying instruments manufactured or distributed by Gibson Guitar Corp. Please note that most of this information relates to serial numbers used from 1975 to present.




Gibson Epiphone Banjo Serial Numbers




NOTE - Gibson USA goes to a 9 digit serial number in early July 2005..The sixth number is now a batch number- batch 0 starts at the beginning of the day, and once we stamp 699, the batch number will change to 1. The first 5 numbers remain the same, the last 3 numbers will remain the same. The only difference is the addition of this batch indicator.


Les Paul Classic 1989-2014: This model features an ink stamped serial number with no "MADE IN USA" (just as we used on the original 1952-1960 Les Pauls). Most will be 5 to 6 digits in length, but the earliest examples feature 4 digit serial numbers. There should be a space after the 1st digit with the 4 and 5 digit serial numbers, and no space with the 6 digit numbers.


The 1st digit indicates the year of manufacture for the 4 & 5 digit serial numbers, these were used from 1989-1999. The 1st and 2nd indicate the year of manufacture for the 6 digit serial numbers which we've been using since 2000.


Most regular production models since ca. 1993. Many '80s and early '90s serial numbers may follow a similar scheme, but may not include a factory ID code.FYYMMRRRRF= Factory code (this can be 2 letters as well)YY= year of manufacture (this can also be just 1 digit for '90s models)MM= month of manufactureR= ranking number (may be more or less digits, not necessarily indicative of total units produced)Example - S02021234 was issued in Feb. 2002.


The Gibson factory in Kalamazoo closed in 1984. The handwritten numbers in the picture do not appear consistent with numbers that would have been placed on the instrument by Gibson. If you would email a full front view and full back view of the instrument to service@gibson.com, we would be glad to help you identify the instrument's model and age. Check the back of the peghead and the inside rim of the resonator. Those are the two places where you might find the serial number for this instrument.


(Ver. 3.5) The Epiphone serial number decoder currently supports 12 serial number formats from 25 factories. Vintage numbers from 1932 to 1970 are supported. Serial numbers from 70' and 80's era Epiphone guitars made in Japan are not supported. The reason for this is that there is no reliable documentation from this time period. This Module has been updated to work with the newer serial number formats. 2ff7e9595c


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