General Gibson serial number information
Gibson serial numbers are usually on the back of the guitars headstock; either stamped, inked or as a decal. Instruments with f-holes often have the serial number repeated on a label inside the guitar body. A lack of a serial number usually implies an instrument has been refinished.
The current Gibson serial number system
There is no Gibson serial number decoder that can automatically date your pre-1977 Gibson, although after this time, the currently used eight digit system ha been used. Not only can it tell the date, but also the place of production. These details are encoded unambiguosly into the serial number as follows.
YDDDYXXX
where YY is the year, DDD is the day of the year, and it was the XXXth instrument stamped that day. Numbers below 500 signify a Kalamazoo productio, above signifies Nashville.
So for example, 80921089 tells us that this bass was stamped on the 2nd April 1981 (day 092), at the Gibson Kalamazoo plant, and was the 089th instrument stamped that day
Vintage Gibson serial numbers
Gibson used various systems of numbering their instruments, and some records exist that can give a clue to a shipping date. 50s and early 1960s details are fairly straightforward, but later serial numbers (particularly around 65-75) can cause more confusion than clarity. BEFORE you read the Gibson serial number charts, please read the rest of this page!
The serial numbers Gibson used, particularly from 1969-1979 are often very difficult to interpret. The reason being that Gibsons 6 digit serial number system reached 999999 several times; each time they continued from 000001.
So Gibson re-used serial numbers. If you read through the charts for a hypothetical number, say 123456 - we see that it was shipped in 1963, 1970-72, and again in 74-75. Not an ideal situation, but many of the Guitars we see listed for sale as 1960s instruments, are actually newer. It is often not the sellers fault, as they will have looked through the numbers, found it was 1963, and would see no reason to look further in the document.
Dating Gibson guitars without serial numbers
Seeing as the Gibson serial numbers can be ambiguous, and that guitar serial numbers are sometimes removed, how can you be sure of a Gibson guitars vintage?. There are subtle changes in most Gibson guitars over the course of their production runs, and, you can usually date a guitar by physical features. Also, with a little knowledge of potentiometer codes, another approximate date can be read. Most instruments can be dated to within 1-2 years without a serial number.
See the list of serial numbers on the Gibson website
Vintage 1970 Gibson EB-0 Bass Husk 1970's 1969 1971
Utica, Michigan, 483**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$535
No breaks or cracks
Original copper cavity shielding
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Gibson Eb14 Electric Bass Guitar Made In USA with Case
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 333**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$280
Ash body
Maple neck
2 Humbuckers with individual coil split
Babicz Bridge
Original case
No papers
There is some wear on the painting as you can see on the pictures... more
1960 Gibson EBO a stunning rare all original example from Gibson's best era !
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 333**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$6495
1964 Gibson EB-2 Bass Guitar with Hard Shell Vintage Flight Case
Chantilly, Virginia, 201**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$5200
The Gibson comes with a stellar silver and gold very early flight case you could ship it overseas in that thing and I wouldn't be afraid. It came from a very high end Collection and is in extremely good condition and will not find one in better shape. Plays and sounds amazing, has the stock bass boost switch that gets super deep tones and a very very cool bass!!!!  It is so clean you can eat off of it!!! Jimmy page... more
1973 Gibson EB-3 Bass Walnut
Carbondale, Illinois, 629**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$2190
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Olivia's Vintage would like to present this 1973 Gibson EB-3 in its original Walnut finish. It has a great playing neck with great frets. It's all original and 100% complete along with its original bridge cover and original purple lined hardshell case. It's in very good condition with some nicks + dings, light belt buckle wear on the back of the body and other cosmetic wear including one misaligned extra screw hole concealed by the bass side of the bridge ... more
Gibson EB-5 Bass
West Palm Beach, Florida, 334**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$1050
Comes with an original Gibson soft gig bag.
Local pick up in West Palm Beach or additional shipping cost will be added.... more
Gibson EB-0 - Cherry
Wylie, Texas, 750**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$1430
Small shipping bump on the body ?? purely cosmetic and adds character without affecting performance. Lowest price online - get it before it's gone!
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New Items: 30 days from delivery Used & Vintage:... more
Vintage Gibson 1961 EB-O bass
Novato, California, 949**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$1650
Original Mahogany body with cherry lacquer finish Original clean rosewood neck frets in great shape, with original black plastic pickup, original knobs, original hard shell case. Plays great, true EB-O original sound and quality. Length of bass... more