Martin Guitar Serial Number Location

Because in contrast to Gibson or Fender, Martin the serial numbers simply used in sequence starting 1898. An exception are the electric solidbody guitars. By means of the serial number of your Martin can therefore quite precise date of production be determined. Martin Guitar Serial Numbers Find out when your Martin Guitar was built using our easy to use Martin Guitar Serial Number chart. The last serial number produced each year is listed to the right of that Martin production year. Own a rare piece of Martin Guitar Artistry. Stunningly gorgeous and rare 2009 Martin OMCE Seafoam Green Acoustic/Electric Guitar. Only 18 were made in this very cool seafoam green color. This is number 1!!! And the only Left handed made.

Martin Guitar Serial Number Lookup
Martin Guitar Serial Number Location
Martin Guitar Serial Number Location Chart

Please use the search bar at the bottom of this page to lookup your guitar's manufacture date. If you would like specs on your guitar please view our Product pages by looking up your model number.

Note for guitars without a serial number

Up to 1977 there was just a label inside the guitar with the last two digits of the year in the bottom right hand corner (see example on the right).

If you wish to know more about your guitar, please include a photo and any specific questions you may have through Customer Service.

Where do I find my serial number?

Your guitar's serial number is found inside the sound hole and up sharply towards the neck block (see example on the right).

Martin Guitar Serial Number Location

First generation 03 Series serial numbers may also be ink stamped on a white label.

If your serial number has 2 lines of numbers please enter only the bottom row to the lookup form below. The first line of numbers is your model number.

In the event you are presented with multiple dates your serial number may be a duplicate. Please use model number to identify your date.

*Do not enter the first digit if it starts with a 0.
*Any issues using the search bar below, let us know here.

So you need to figure out the date of your Martin guitar. It's actually a lot easier than you may think. Unlike the nebulous web of varying schemes and numbering systems used by companies like Gibson over the decades, Martin has employed a single string of serial numbers for a vast majority of its guitars going all the way back to 1898. This means that just using the serial number of your Martin will give a very accurate date of when the guitar left the line.

The Martin serial number sequence starts at 8348 which is how many guitars the firm had estimated it had produced from its inception to when they started the serial sequence at the end of the 19th century. Martin has kept meticulous records of the serial number of last guitar produced each year, so finding the year of production by serial number is as simple as finding the range it falls into the chart below.

Martin Guitar Serial Number Lookup

Finding the Serial Number on Your Martin

In a vast majority of cases, the serial number on a Martin guitar can be found inside the body near the neck joint. This can be seen by looking through the soundhole on the guitar towards the front of the instrument. It can be a little dark in there, so you may need to use a flashlight (or the glow of smartphone) to read each digit. There are other instances where you may find the serial number of any extant paperwork that came with the instrument.

Here's the breakdown of Martin serial numbers covering over a century of guitar production. Just see where your serial fits in, and you'll have the year:

Guitar

Last Serial Number	Year
8348	1898
8716	1899
9128	1900
9310	1901
9528	1902
9810	1903
9988	1904
10120	1905
10329	1906
10727	1907
10883	1908
11018	1909
11203	1910
11413	1911
11565	1912
11821	1913
12047	1914
12209	1915
12390	1916
12988	1917
13450	1918
14512	1919
15848	1920
16758	1921
17839	1922
19891	1923
22008	1924
24116	1925
28689	1926
34435	1927
37568	1928
40843	1929
45317	1930
49589	1931
52590	1932
55084	1933
58679	1934
61947	1935
65176	1936
68865	1937
71866	1938
74061	1939
76734	1940
80013	1941
83107	1942
86724	1943
90149	1944
93623	1945
98158	1946
103468	1947
108269	1948
112961	1949
117961	1950
122799	1951
128436	1952
134501	1953
141345	1954
147328	1955
153225	1956

Last Serial Number	Year
159061	1957
165576	1958
171047	1959
175689	1960
181297	1961
187384	1962
193327	1963
199626	1964
207030	1965
217215	1966
230095	1967
241925	1968
256003	1969
271633	1970
294270	1971
313302	1972
333873	1973
353387	1974
371828	1975
388800	1976
399625	1977
407800	1978
419900	1979
430300	1980
436474	1981
439627	1982
446101	1983
453300	1984
460575	1985
468175	1986
476216	1987
483952	1988
493279	1989
503309	1990
512487	1991
522655	1992
535223	1993
551696	1994
570434	1995
592930	1996
624799	1997
668796	1998
724077	1999
780500	2000
845644	2001
916759	2002
978706	2003
1042558	2004
1115862	2005
1197799	2006
1268091	2007
1337042	2008
1406715	2009
1473461	2010
1555767	2011
1656742	2012
1755536	2013
1857399	2014

Exceptions to the Above

There are a number of exceptions to the above. Most notably, Martin Mandolins from before 1991 use a different sequence than guitars. Additionally, the solidbody electrics like the E18 model from the '70s do not conform to the above. Numbers 900001 to 902908 were used by a short run of Sigma-made Martin models in the early '80s so don't not appear on Martin models.