Vintage Fret

Date an old guitar, ukulele, banjo or mandolin from its serial number

Type the number. You get every reading that fits, how sure each one is, and what rules the others out. A serial is evidence, not proof.

This is an example number. Replace it with yours. Hyphens matter, so keep them.

Brand

Your number, read character by character

5digit8digit3digit2digit1digit

Entries

Ranked by confidence. Select a row for its rule.
Exact
The rule gives one year.
Likely
One rule fits. Verify with features.
Likely estimated
Boundaries reconstructed by collectors.
Likely
One rule fits. Verify with features.
Ambiguous estimated
The rule gives a span, not a year.
Ambiguous estimated
Overlaps another format.
Ambiguous estimated
Overlaps another format.

1934 to 1971. 7 readings overlap and the number alone cannot separate them. Choose a brand, add a hyphen or a pot code to narrow.

No year in the number

These formats match the digits but carry no date: Epiphone, Harmony, Kay, Ukulele, banjo and mandolin, Silvertone / Danelectro. Date these by features and labels instead. Why.

How sure is each reading

Every entry carries a word and a shape, so you never have to rely on colour alone.

ExactThe rule gives one year. Martin numbers after 1898 are the clearest case.
LikelyOne reading fits, with some doubt about boundaries or overlap.
AmbiguousMore than one year or rule fits. The bracket joins them and names the span.
Cannot tellThe format carries no year. Date it from features instead.

When the number is not enough

Pot codes

Three-digit maker plus year and week, stamped on potentiometers. It gives the earliest the instrument could have been built.

Timeline

Slide through 1890 to 2025 and see which formats, features and events were current for each brand.

Guides

Where to find the number, which ones lie, and how to date an instrument that has none.

What this does and does not do

Each brand published or inherited serial numbers in a different way, and the formats overlap. The same five digits can be a Martin from the 1930s, a Gretsch from the 1960s or a Guild from the 1970s. The decoder runs your number against every format at once, then lets you narrow it with the things you know: the brand on the headstock, a hyphen, a pot code.

Narrowing does not hide anything. Readings you have ruled out stay listed underneath with the reason, so you can check the decision.

It does not value instruments or judge whether one is authentic. About the rules and the known gaps.

Brands covered

Martin, Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Epiphone, Guild, Rickenbacker, Harmony, Kay, Silvertone and Danelectro, and other makers of ukuleles, banjos and mandolins.