DATING EPIPHONE GUITARS AND MANDOLINS BY REFERENCE OF SERIAL NUMBERS

Epiphone guitars are manufactured in various factories across different countries, making it challenging to identify their origin or manufacturing date. However, each Epiphone guitar is marked with a serial number that, once decoded, can reveal details about its production location and date.

Where to find the serial number:

To find the serial number of your guitar, look for it on the headstock. For Semi-Hollow models, it can be found on the label inside the top f-hole, while for acoustic guitars, it can be found on the label inside the sound hole. The serial number usually contains a combination of digits and one or two letters.

To determine the year of production for your Epiphone guitar or mandolin, you have two options: use Epiphone serial numbers decoder or refer to the explanation of the dating system PROVIDED BELOW.

decoder coming soon… see tables

Epihone history in short

Anastasios Stathopoulos was a Greek luthier born in 1863 who founded a mandolin and violin company in Pellana, Greece in 1873. In 1903, he immigrated with his wife to New York and a year later, started a company that primarily produced mandolins. The business was successful, leading Stathopoulos to hire Italian professional Henry Cappielo.

Following Anastasios’ death in 1915, his son Epaminondas (Epi) took over the company and expanded it into one of the largest of its kind. Epi then opened a factory for the production of banjos, leading to his purchase of the banjo company Favoran and the introduction of the Epiphone Recording line, which proved to be a great success due to its high quality and elegant design.

The success of the banjo Recording line prompted Epiphone to establish a Recording line for guitars in 1928 and to introduce a full line of f-hole archtop guitars in 1931, including 12 models such as the Broadway, Triumph, and DeLuxe. Competing with Gibson, Epiphone dealt a serious blow to its competitor with the introduction of the Epiphone Emperor in 1935, and in 1937, the company introduced the Electar series of electric guitars with adjustable pickups.

Epaminondas passed away in 1943, and the company was taken over by his two sons, Orpheus (Orphie) and Frixo. However, the cooperation between the two brothers deteriorated, and the company struggled in the post-war years. By the mid-1950s, Epiphone was producing very few instruments. In 1957, the company was sold to CMI, Gibson’s parent company, for $20,000.00. A complete range of newly designed acoustic and electric guitars was introduced in 1958, and in 1960, production moved to the Gibson plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

In the early 1970s, production under license from Gibson moved from the USA to Japan, and from 1983, Epiphone guitars were also produced in Korea, followed by Indonesia in 1995. In 2004, Gibson opened a factory in Qingdao, China for the production of Epiphone guitars. Although the vast majority of Epiphone guitars are produced in these countries, some more exclusive models are still manufactured in the USA.

Serial numbers

The stamped serial number can consist of a series of numbers, or letter(s) and numbers.

Only numbers
For an eleven digit serial number, the encoding is as follows:
Example: 11051500160
The first two digits are the last 2 digits of the year. (11)
The next two digits represent the month. (05)
The 5th and 6th digit represent the factory code.. (15)
(See list numbered factory codes)
The last 5 digits form the series sequence number.
Serial number 11051500160 is the 160th guitar built in May 2011
at the factory of Qingdao in China.
(Since 2004 Epiphone guitars have been produced in China)

Five digit serial numbers.
Five digits with a space after the first digit and custom shop on the back of the headstock, applied from 1990 to 1999.
The first digit is the last digit of the production year, the following four digits are the serial number.
Five digits no space after the first digit were used from 1951 to 1956 and from 1961 to 1967 for both acoustic and electric models.


Six digit serial numbers
From 1961 to early 1970, Epiphone used 6-digit serial numbers in the Gibson serial number line. However, many serial numbers were duplicated during this period, making the exact production year difficult to trace. It is certain that the models with a 6 digit serial number starting with 0 were produced in 1967.


Seven digit serial numbers do not have a factory code.
Here is the first digit the last year of the decade. The 2nd and 3rd numbers represent the month.
These were manufactured in Korea by Samick between 1984 and 1995.


Eight and nine digit serial numbers without a factory code.
These were used respectively from 1990 and 1988 and also manufactured by Samick in Korea.

Letter(s) and numbers


One letter five digits
This combination was applied to the Elite/Elitist models.
The letter indicates the factory code and the first digit is the last digit of the year (since 2002).
The factory code can be an F or a T here.
(See list Factory code letter)
Example: Serial number T32222 is the 2222th guitar of 2003
built in the factory of Terada Gakki Seisakusyo, Japan.

One letter six digits
The letter indicates the factory code and the first and second digit are the last two digits of the year.
Example: Serial number Z051234 is the 1234th guitar built in 2005 at the Zaozhuang Saehan factory in China.

Between 2001 and 2010 only 1 digit was used for the production year.

Two letters five digits
The letters indicate the factory code and the first digit is the last digit of the year.
Example: Serial number CI21234 is the 1234th guitar built in 2002 at the Cort, Indonesia factory.

One letter seven digits
The letter indicates the factory code and the first digit is the last digit of the year.
The 3rd and 4th digits represent the month.
The last 4 digits form the series sequence number.
Because the year is only represented by 1 digit, guitars with this coding from the 80s, 90s or a decade of 2000 (depending on the factory code).
Example: Serial number S6031234 is the 1234th guitar built in 1986, 1996 or 2006 at the Samick factory in Korea.

Two letters six digits
The letter indicates the factory code and the next two digits are the last two digits of the year.
The second letter (fourth character) stands for the month.
(A = January, B = February, etc.)
The last 4 digits form the series sequence number.
Example: Serial number R04G0123 is the 123th guitar of July 2004, built in the Peerless, Korea factory.

One letter eight digits
The letter indicates the factory code, the next two digits are the last two digits of the year.
The 3rd and 4th digits represent the month.
The last 4 digits form the series sequence number.
Example: C99040233 is the 233rd guitar of April 1999, built in the Cort factory, Korea.
(This coding method was used until 2010).

Two letters seven digits
The letter indicates the factory code, the next two digits are the last two digits of the year.

The second letter (fourth character) stands for the month. (A = January, B = February, etc.)
The last 5 digits form the series sequence number.
Example: S07C00122 is the 122th guitar of March 2004, built at the Samick factory in Korea.
(This coding method was used until 2010)

Two letters eight digits
The 2 letters indicate the factory code, the next two digits are the last two digits of the year.
The 5th and 6th digits represent the month.
The last 4 digits form the series sequence number.
Example: SI02060234 is the 234th guitar of June 2002, built at the Samick factory in Cileungsi near Bogor, Indonesia.

Two letter nine digits
This coding is the same as the coding of two letter eight digits
with the difference that here is 5 digits for it sequence number
are used.

Acoustic guitars

Japan


The acoustic guitars from Epiphone, which were manufactured by Matsumoku in Japan from 1970 to 1987, are not reliable serial numbering system, but can be approximately dated by color and inscription from the Epiphone label.
Blue label 1970-1975
The first blue labels that were used were leftover labels from the Kalamazoo factory.
In the bottom left corner of these labels is printed “Union Made” and stamped, “Made in Japan”.
Until supplies ran out, they were used from 1970 until the beginning of 1971. Some of these first labels do not include Made in Japan or Union Made.
After supplies ran out, new blue labels were used where in the lower right corner “Made in Japan” is printed.
Brown or white “Lincolnwood” label 1976-1979
The Lincolnwood label was also used for the acoustic guitars of
the Taiwanese “Ep” series from 1979-1980.
These labels in the bottom right corner say, ‘Made in Taiwan’.
From 1980 to 1987 a mottled label was used.

China


In 2004 Gibson opened a factory in Qingdao, China, which produces Epiphone guitars.

No labels have been used here, but stickers with “Made in China” are glued to the neck of the guitars. With the exception of the Masterbilts, these do have a label with a serial number in the resonance box.

Numbered factory codes

NUMBERFACTORYCOUNTRY
10unknownChina
11QingdaoChina
12DeaWon or UnsungChina
13unknownChina
14DaeWonChina
15Qingdao (electric)China
16Qingdao (acoustic)China
17unknownChina
18unknownChina
19Fine GuitarsChina
20DeaWon or UnsungChina
21UnsungKorea
22unknownKorea
23SamickIndonesia

Factory code letter

NUMBERFACTORYCOUNTRY
 BBohêmia Musico-DeliciaCzech Republic
BWunknownChina
CCortKorea
CICortIndonesia
DWDaeWonChina
EAQingdao (acoustic)China
EDDongbeiChina
EEQingDao (electric)China
FFuji-gen (Elite/Elitist models)Japan
FFine GuitarsKorea
FCFuji-gen (nineties)Japan
GQingDao (acoustic)Korea
GGunknownKorea
GRFarida, Guang DongIndonesia
ISaeinKorea
ISSamick, BogorIndonesia
JTerada Gakki SeisakusyoJapan
KKorea Ins.Korea
LLeader Musical Instrument Co Ltd.Korea
MCMuseChina
MRMirr factoryChina [Korea to 2004]
OChoiceKorea
PPeerlessKorea
RPeerlessKorea
QGQingdao GibsonChina
SSamickKorea
SISamick, BogorIndonesia
SJSaeJunChina
SMSamilKorea
TTerada Gakki SeisakusyoJapan
UUnsungKorea
UCUnsung ChinaChina
ZZaozhuang SaehanChina

Unclear Letter factory codes

NUMBERFACTORYCOUNTRY
Hunknown Probably Hunan, China
GPunknownProbably Korea
JKunknown Probably Korea or Indonesia
SKunknownunknown
SNunknown Probably Indonesia
SWunknownunknown
WFunknownProbably China
XunknownProbably China
YunknownProbably Korea

If you are unsure whether the serial number corresponds with the year of manufacture, you can do a potmeter-check with an electric model.

FAQ

  1. How can I tell what year my Epiphone guitar was made?

    Epiphone guitars are manufactured in various factories across different countries, making it challenging to identify their origin or manufacturing date. However, each Epiphone guitar is marked with a serial number that, once decoded, can reveal details about its production location and date. To determine the year of production for your Epiphone guitar or mandolin, you have two options: use the serial number decoder or refer to the explanation of the dating system.

  2. How do I find Epiphone guitar serial number?

    To find the serial number of your Epiphone guitar, look for it on the headstock. For Semi-Hollow models, it can be found on the label inside the top f-hole, while for Epiphone acoustic guitars, it can be found on the label inside the sound hole. Epiphone serial number usually contains a combination of digits and one or two letters.