Epiphone Serial Number Lookup & Dating Guide
Verify authenticity, decode production year, and look up factory specifications for Epiphone guitars.
Where to Find the Serial Number on a Epiphone Guitar
Printed in gold, silver, or black stamped script directly beneath the tuning machines on the back of the headstock.
For hollowbody Casino, Sheraton, and acoustic models, look inside the upper or lower F-hole for the rectangular blue/orange paper label.
Epiphone Serial Number Formats & Historical Dating Cheat-Sheet
| Production Era | Serial Format | Decoding Rule / Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modern All-Numeric 11-12 Digits (2008–Present) | YYMMFFPPPPP (e.g. 19081523456) | YY=Year (19=2019), MM=Month (08=August), FF=Factory code (15=Qingdao electric, 16=Qingdao acoustic, 21=Unsung Korea, 23=Samick Indonesia), followed by production sequence. Epiphone publishes no factory table; codes come from the community, and some (17, 18, 22) have no identified plant. | 19081523456 -> Made in Aug 2019 at Qingdao Facility |
| Letter Prefix System (1993–2010s) | FF + YYMM + XXXX (e.g. EE08051234), or R03D0263 with a letter month | EE/EA=Qingdao China, SJ=SaeJun China, SI=Samick Indonesia, S=Samick Korea, U=Unsung Korea, C=Cort Korea, followed by 2-digit year and month. Peerless-style serials write the month as a letter (A=January … L=December). | EE08051234 -> Qingdao Factory (May 2008) |
| Korean Golden Era (1990s) | F + YMM + XXXX (e.g. S9041234) | S=Samick, U=Unsung, P=Peerless Korea, followed by single-digit year and month. | S9041234 -> Samick Korea (April 1999) |
| Epiphone Japan / Elitist | F or T + digits (e.g. F21234, T41234); Japan domestic J902123 | F=Fuji-Gen, T=Terada. Elite/Elitist: one year digit for 2002–2009, two digits from 2010. The Japan domestic line (1998–2008) uses YMMPPP, where J or T is Terada and F or no letter is Fuji-Gen; the year digit repeats every decade. | F21234 -> Fuji-Gen Japan Elitist (2002) |
| Les Paul Standard F-Series (2009–Present) | F + 6 digits, starting F300000 (e.g. F312345) | A sequential Qingdao series with no month and only an approximate year (F300000 late 2009, F310000 2012, F324000 2014, F330000 2015). This F is not Fuji-Gen Japan. | F312345 -> Qingdao China, about 2012–2013 |
Epiphone Hardware Verification & Anti-Counterfeit Audit
3-Step Physical Inspection & Anti-Counterfeit Checklist
The #1 tell on counterfeit Epiphone Les Pauls is knob alignment. Draw an imaginary line connecting the two volume knobs and another connecting the two tone knobs: both lines must run parallel to each other and parallel to the center line of the neck. On fakes, the knob cluster is tilted or the upper volume knob is drilled significantly below the bridge stud line.
On counterfeit Chinese Epiphones, the factory prefix letters (especially "EE") are printed visibly larger and bolder than the following 8 digits, with uneven spacing. Authentic Qingdao serials feature uniform laser-etched font height across both letters and numbers.
Modern authentic Epiphones (especially 2020+ Inspired by Gibson) use full-sized CTS potentiometers, Mallory 150 or Orange Drop capacitors, and a clean shielded switchcraft-style toggle. Counterfeits contain dime-sized unbranded metric pots with messy multi-colored ribbon cables. On 1959 models, removing the neck pickup must reveal an authentic long neck tenon extending deep into the cavity floor.
of fake Gibson copies intercepted on secondary marketplaces are disguised as Epiphone models (Les Paul Custom, Zakk Wylde, and 1959 IBG) to bypass scrutiny.
2020+ "Inspired by Gibson" models with the vintage Kalamazoo headstock and CTS pots command a 42% resale premium over 2000–2019 "clipped-ear" models.
Epiphone Elitist / Elite models crafted at FujiGen Japan (2002–2008) trade at 2.65x standard Chinese production, rivaling Gibson USA in secondary demand.
Player & Collector Consensus: Epiphone 1959 Les Paul Standard (Inspired by Gibson) vs Used Gibson Les Paul Studio
Community Verdict: 58.7% of working musicians choose the flagship Epiphone 1959 with full Gibson USA electronics and long tenon over an entry-level stripped-down Gibson Studio, marking a historic tipping point in brand perception.
Frequently Asked Questions: Dating & Authenticating Epiphone
Where are modern Epiphone guitars made?
Most current Epiphones are built in China, at the Qingdao plant that appears in serials as EE, EA or factory codes 15 and 16, and in Indonesia by Samick (code 23). The Elite/Elitist line launched in 2002 and was built in Japan by Fuji-Gen and Terada; most models were discontinued in 2008. Epiphone publishes no factory table, so the plant codes are community-observed.
What makes Peerless or Korean Epiphones special?
Korean Epiphones produced by Samick, Unsung, and Peerless in the 1990s and early 2000s have gained a strong reputation for outstanding wood selection, resonant bodies, and vintage-correct neck carves.
Explore Epiphone Market Prices & Buying Advice
Knowing your guitar's build year is the first step in determining its resale value. Read our comprehensive 2026 buying guide and valuation tables to see current market trends for Epiphone.
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