Guild Model Prefix Serial Number Charts

Many Guild serial numbers are model-specific. During this period, refer to the model-specific prefixes to determine the year. The letters and digits must be compared with the correct model row; the digits don’t themselves encode the year.

A full range gives a published first and last number. An annual endpoint gives only the last number recorded for that model in that year. For example, the Artist Award ends 1984 at JA100122 and 1985 at JA100127. The photographed JA100123 sits between those adjacent records and supports a 1985 reading, assuming the instrument and sequence agree. A missing intervening year would weaken that inference.

Tip: the fastest way to navigate these model-specific charts on a computer is to press Ctrl+F and type your prefix into the search bar. You can then jump straight to the rows that share your guitar's prefix. The filter on this page also searches model names and serial cells. Clear it to restore every row.

These are the records published in Guild’s dating reference. N/A means the table supplies no usable entry. A question mark, gap or repeated boundary stays visible because filling it in would invent data. For a plain numeric serial, return to the Guild serial lookup. For a later import, read the series and country distinctions.

From 1960 to 1964, Guild continued a single sequential numbering system for all models. From 1965 to 1969, a separate serial system was introduced for each model. Your serial number may be a sequential one or a model-specific one, so check both charts and compare accordingly.

The AI prefix appears under both F30 and A150, so a prefix alone can give multiple answers. The F50 label AD355 fits the F50 row in 1968. The printed Hoboken address is a separate piece of evidence. Don’t overwrite a model-specific result with an assumed factory date.

The source has gaps, including F30 numbers between AI341 and AI352 and a missing DC898 between Starfire XII entries. It also contains unusual standalone model labels such as BB195-241. They’re retained here as published, rather than silently assigned to another row.

In late 1979, the prefix system was reintroduced. The figures below represent the last serial number produced for each model in each year. The plain numeric 1979 chart ends September 30; these model records cover the later system.

Compare adjacent years only when the model, prefix and sequence remain consistent. A blank year, a restarted count or a changed model name prevents a simple “between these two numbers” conclusion. Keep leading zeroes when you copy a serial.

During this high-production era, Guild continued model-specific serialization. Match your model to find the last serial number of that year. Some model rows change prefix during the period. A shorter number in a newer sequence isn’t necessarily an older guitar.

Read both the model column and the full cell, including alternatives and question marks. If a worn stamp could be read two ways, take another headstock photograph with side lighting before comparing endpoints.

Guild continued model-specific serialization through 1994. This particular table ends in 1993; the 1994 endpoints appear in the next section. Related names such as D40 and D40C remain separate where the manufacturer publishes separate rows.

A model suffix can change the row you need. Copy cutaway, electronics and other suffixes from the actual instrument rather than abbreviating the name from memory. The acoustic identification guide explains which photographs help distinguish similar models.

For 1994, factory records typically provide only the model prefix and the last serial number. For 1995 and 1996, Guild returned to providing full production ranges (first and last serial numbers) for each model. The table below preserves the manufacturer's record of this transition era.

Some published ranges overlap. For example, Artist Award AA000089 appears at the 1995 and 1996 boundary. That supports a transition-period answer until other evidence resolves it. Don’t adjust a boundary merely to make a calculator return one year.

As the 1990s progressed, Guild provided detailed beginning and ending serial-number ranges for each model. This chart covers 1997 production, including several well-known acoustics and the continuation of the Starfire electric series.

Guild’s source groups this material under a broader late-1990s tab, but the displayed table supplies 1997 records. It does not provide a complete 1998 or 1999 chart. A number beyond a listed range therefore needs further evidence, not an automatic next-year assignment. See the Corona transition discussion for later instruments.