The letter prefix is followed by an eight-digit number, the first two digits of which identify year of manufacture, (i.e.,, , etc.).
A seven-digit serial number beginning with six, for example, indicates 1996 a seven-digit number beginning with seven denotes 1997 an eight-digit number beginning with 98 denotes 1998, etc.Ī “KC” prefix was introduced on Korean-made instruments in 1997, designating instrument made in Korea at the Cort factory. Serial numbers without letter prefixes have been found dating through 1996 these are six-, seven- and eight-digit serial numbers with the first numeral (or first two numerals in the eight-digit numbers) indicating year of manufacture. It is accepted that there were serial numbers with and without letter prefixes at that time, but as definitive information is lacking, serial-number dating for Korean instruments made before 1993 is highly uncertain.ĭigital records beginning in 1993 show some “CN” and “VN” prefixes on the serial numbers of Korean-made instruments (these numbers almost certainly occur before 1993, but there is no documentation of this). How can I find out when my Korean-made instrument was manufactured?Īlthough Fender began producing Fender and Squier instruments in Korea in 1988, its digital records only go back to mid-1993, with little if any information available on serial numbering from 1988 through 1992.
