What in the serial no' tells me what year my U.S. Strat is.?!
Question:
What in the serial no' tells me what year my U.S. Strat is.?
Answers:
Serial numbers show approximate date of manufacture. For all dates, you will need to look at the construction technique and components used to get a more precise date of manufacture.
Number Date
2000 - 3000's 1949 or 1950
4000 - 5000's 1951
5000 - 6000's 1952
6000 - 8000's 1953
9000 - 12000's 1954
12000 - 16000's 1955
17000 - 21000's 1956
22000 - 26000's 1957
27000 - 30000's 1958
30000 - 34000's 1959
34000 - 39000's 1960
39000 - 45000's 1961
46000 - 52000's 1962
53000 - 63000's 1963
63000 - 84000's 1964
New Serial Number Scheme
1965 to 1972
The first 2 digits show Month (Jan = 1 and Dec = 12).
Next digit shows the last digit of the year starting with 5, i.e. 5=1965, 1=1971 etc.
The remaining numbers show the production order of the instrument for the year so if the last 3 digits are 759 this would be the 759th instrument produced that year.
Another New Serial Number Scheme
1973 to 1981
A number is impressed into back of the headstock.
The 1 or 2 digits before the hyphen show the month (1=Jan, 12=Dec.)
The first digit after hyphen shows the last digit of year.
The remaining 3 numbers show the production order of the instrument for the year so if the last 3 digits are 759 this would be the 759th instrument produced that year.