Unfortunately, some documentation has been lost or destroyed over the years, resulting in some holes in the historical record in addition to a small number of anomalies, inconsistencies and outright dating errors. That said, the information compiled and presented here is the most comprehensive data set we have for dating Guild guitars. Please refer to the notes preceding each chart on how to best interpret the data.

Two other highly reliable resources for dating Guild instruments are The Guild Guitar Book and Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars, both of which are excellent references that often prove helpful with questions regarding dating, specifications and historical context of many Guild instruments.

Unfortunately, once again, records of Guild serial numbers before 1960 are at best sketchy, preventing us from being able to assure dating accuracy before that year. Nonetheless, the charts below contain the best information we have on the approximate last serial numbers produced each year before 1960. There are no corresponding model names or numbers available.

1952-1960

1960-1969

This chart displays the first and last serial numbers of guitars produced in each year from 1960 to 1969 (inclusive); no corresponding model names or numbers are available.

1965-1969

From 1965 to 1969 (inclusive), Guild used a separate serial numbering system for each guitar model. This chart details the year, model and beginning/ending serial numbers for each instrument during that period.

1970-1979

This chart displays the first and last serial numbers of guitars produced each year from 1970 to 1979 (inclusive); no corresponding model names or numbers are available.

1979-1983

From 1979 to 1983 (inclusive), Guild resumed using separate serial number prefixes for each guitar model. This chart details the year, model and last serial number produced for each instrument during that period.

1984-1989

From 1984 to 1989 (inclusive), Guild continued using separate serial number prefixes for each guitar model. This chart details the year, model and last serial number produced for each instrument during that period.

1990-1994

From 1990 to 1994 (inclusive), Guild continued using separate serial number prefixes for each guitar model. This chart details the year, model and last serial number produced for each instrument during that period.

1994-1996

For 1994 only, the model prefix and last serial number for each model produced is all that is available. For 1995 and 1996, Guild resumed using separate serial number prefixes for each guitar model, plus the first and last serial numbers produced for each instrument during that period.

1997-1999

This chart details the year, model and beginning/ending serial numbers for each instrument during that period.

Dating Guild Instruments made in Tacoma, Washington after February 2005

FMIC began building Guild guitars in Tacoma, Washington in early 2005. Tacoma made Guild guitars have a serial number consisting of two letters and six digits.
 
As an example, we'll use a random number: TJ 037 016.
 

• The first letter "T", identifies the guitar as being made at our manufacturing facility in Tacoma, Washington.
   
• The second letter identifies the year of manufacture and is based on a dating system introduced by the Tacoma guitar manufacturing plant in 1998 that associated the letter "B" with that specific year.  Successive years are associated with the alphabet in sequence. Using this system, the letter "J" would stand for the year 2006.
   
• The first three numbers of the serial number are derived from the "Julian" calendar which associates each day of the year to a respective number from 1 to 365 in numerical sequence. These three numbers identify the month and day of manufacture by their respective numerical order. In this case, the numbers 037 identify the instrument as being made on the 37th day of the year, which according to the Julian calendar, is February the 6th.
   
• The final three digits of the serial number refer to the unit number built on that specific day. In this example, 016 identifies this serial number as being from the 16th instrument built on that day.
   
• To recap this example: T (Built in Tacoma), J (Built in 2006), 037 (Built on February 6th), 016 (The 16th instrument built on that day)