![]() ![]() ![]() “L-5 serial number 81629 – which according to Joe was shipped in 1927 – is a perfect example. In short, manufacture of an instrument shipped in 1930 may have begun in 1925 and that instrument could have been in any stage of completion in 1925. This resulted in instruments where three may look one way, while others could have fingerboards, finishes and hardware that do not conform to a specific era. “For example, guitars comprising a batch of L-5s with the same FON may have been shipped out at different dates – perhaps as much as several years apart. When labels were applied, the serial number had already been written inside the instrument at the point at which, say, the top or back was glued on to complete it as a unit. NOT at the point at which it was shipped. “In the 1920s and even prior to that, the serial number was added after the FON had been assigned to a batch and instruments in that batch received serial numbers as they became ‘whole’, but before the instrument was totally complete, i.e. ![]() ![]() “While Joe’s serial number list is generally correct for the later 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, I believe that when it comes to the period of 1924 to 1929, there were some gradual changes that eventually resulted in serial numbers being assigned at shipping. In the case of instruments produced prior to 1930 however, Gibson researcher Darryl Wolfe (founder of Darryl Wolfe’s F5 Journal) disagrees to some extent. Joe defines ‘final inspection’ as: “stringing, casing and placing of paper serial number label.” “Serial numbers are not a good indicator of production date because many instruments that qualified for one did not receive it until final inspection, just prior to being shipped,” he says. Joe explains that while the FON (Factory Order Number) is the best indicator of when an instrument was manufactured (each prospective batch of instruments was assigned an FON before production began), the serial number relates to its shipping date. The shipping dates quoted on this site are, for the most part, based on the serial number index included in Joe Spann’s book, Spann’s Guide To Gibson 1902-1941 (published by Centerstream). ![]()
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