Added new Sansui decoder to hi-fi section.Added new Naim Audio decoder to hi-fi section.Added new Linn Sondek LP12 decoder to hi-fi section.Added over 500 new PIC codes to the Omega model number decoder, mainly new models.Added new Garrard 301 and 401 decoder to hi-fi section.eBay stopped supporting its older link format so my apologies to anybody who followed a link and was presented with a blank eBay main page instead of useful search results, this is now resolved. Significant bug fix across many pages.Should work with all types of Pioneer equipment from the 1950s to current day. Added new Pioneer decoder to the hi-fi section.It should work with most things made my Motorola. Bugfix on the Gibson decoder where some codes where returned with an incorrect date, thanks to Jenna for bringing this to my attention.Updated Kawai Piano decoder with new ranges up to 2020.
Updated the Gibson decoder to include the 1994 specific serial number format.Corrected a few dates in the Boss database.Updated Kawai Piano decoder to better identify Canadian pianos.Added more accurate dates for some movements in the Seiko serial number decoder.Minor tweaks to the Kawai Piano decoder to better identify incorrectly typed serial numbers.This site is continually evolving with new manufacturers added and updates to existing model databases. Having a date for a collectible can help you check its authenticity and spot a fake, it can help you with a valuation and can also help you fetch more when selling items on eBay. Recent additions have been tools to date and identify Apple devices as well as Samsung Galaxy and Sony Xperia mobile phones. Aimed at collectors, sellers, dealers and eBayers, it now covers vintage or antique Rolex, Tissot, Timex, Elgin, Casio, Citizen and Omega watches as well as Gibson, Fender and CF Martin guitars, Roland and Boss (which includes all the old analogue gear and Boss pedals), Kawai and Yamaha pianos, DOD and Ibanez guitar pedals, Hot Wheels diecast models and some electronic component dating tools useful for dating vintage guitars, pedals and synthesizers. It is now one of the most comprehensive sets of serial number decoders on the internet. Since then it has expanded to cover my other interests and collectible vintage equipment in general. This project started back in 2012 when I wrote a basic tool to cross reference the serial numbers and the movements on my personal vintage Seiko watch collection. Throughout the war and even for some time after, each year had its own quirks around FON batch numbers and letters 1942 to 1951 FON Info Yearĩ07, 910, 923, 2004, 2005, 7000s (all with banner logo)ġ100s to 3700s (move from script to block logo)įrom 1952 to 1961, a consistent letter code resumed, with the letter appearing before the batch number.Welcome to .uk, a collection of serial number date decoders and tools.
The year is indicated by the first letter in any series of letters for these years. To complicate matters further, there was sometimes a second letter from 1938 to 1941 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 consistency around this stopped during WWII and resumed in the early 1950s. 1902 to 1945 FON Overview Yearġ to 7900 (some with letter, some without)įrom 1935 to 1942, the FON included a letter suffix. A FON usually consisted of a 3-, 4-, or 5-digit batch number followed by one or two other numbers in most cases. Some earlier lower-end models had no serial number at all, making the FON the sole numerical identifier in those cases. These will generally date an instrument earlier than the serial number, as they were typically applied in the early stages of assembly. 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.įONs were Gibson’s way of internally tracking batches of instruments throughout production. Gibson has historically used two different alpha-numerical formats to catalog its instruments: serial numbers and FONs (Factory Order Numbers). Dating a Gibson by Factory Order Number (FON) After 1950, headstocks had uniform thickness. Before mid-1950, most Gibson headstocks were thinner at the top when looked at from a side profile. The thickness of the headstock, however, is not as vulnerable to modification or replacement. This makes relying entirely on the physical features of a guitar potentially misleading. Many older instruments may have reproduction or other non-original parts, including a non-original finish.
Aside from the logos, each era of manufacturing included certain identifying traits such as the hardware (tuners, knobs, plates, etc.), the pickups, the type of finish, and the electronics inside that can give clues as to when an instrument was made.