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How Can I Tell What Year My Gibson J50 Was Made?

Determining what year your Gibson J-50 was made can be done by identifying and de-coding the serial number. Determining the manufacturer date can help in deciding the value, determining if a warranty exists and can help for personal property insurance documentation.

Instructions

- 1
  Look on the back of your J-50 headstock for the eight-digit serial number. For guitars made prior to 1977, the serial number is on a decal. In 1977, Gibson stamped the eight-digit serial number under "MADE IN U.S.A."
- 2
  Locate the first two numbers of the serial number. For guitars made prior to 1977, the first two numbers determine the year of manufacture as follows: "99" means the guitars was made in 1975; "00" means the guitar was made in 1976; and "01" means the guitar was made in 1977.
- 3
  Decode the stamped serial numbers by using the following code, YDDDYRRR. The YY is the year, the DDD is the numerical day of the year, and the RRR is the ranking number. For example, a serial code of 72769500 was made on October 3, 1979.

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