Then he remembered the quirk.
But, Elias thought, his mind racing. In 1977, Gibson changed the system again. They switched to an eight-digit code (YDDDYPPP). This stamp only had five digits, or maybe six if the stamping was weak. gibson sg serial number identification
"Find anything interesting?" the clerk called out, flipping the sign to 'Open'. Then he remembered the quirk
Elias quickly screwed the backplate back on. He ran his hand down the neck one last time. The wear on the frets was honest. The serial number was a mystery that had been solved. It wasn't a forgery; it was a survivor of a messy decade. They switched to an eight-digit code (YDDDYPPP)
He looked at the logo. The "i" in Gibson had a dot, and the "G" was open. The pearl inlay was "Gibson" with the dot over the "i". It was consistent with the era.
If you see a "MADE IN USA" stamp with a 6-digit number, the guitar was definitively made between 1970 and 1975. The Decal & Early Modern Systems: 1975–1977
Better yet, from 2005 onward, Gibson used an online lookup tool. And from 2014–2019, they added a barcode with the serial on the back of the headstock.