Due to the 88 at the front I think it might be an early sample from the company whom started manufacture in the 90s for Epiphone.

There is one extra digit to many to show it as being in the Gibson series.

Do the numbers 88 and the last number 5 on your guitar label have a bolder appearance My guitar is a beautiful natural maple front and sides with a big lump of pinkish wood inside and sounds absolutely great.

For those who want to date their guitars, check this site out.

They have productive capability 50,000 of Electric Guitars and basses a year.

Not only do they produce guitars for several well known brands by OEM but also have their own line Silver Star.

This is my first electric guitar, saved up for it for a long time.

FYYMMRRRR F Factory code (this can be 2 letters as well) YY year of manufacture (this can also be just 1 digit for 90s models) MM month of manufacture R ranking number (may be more or less digits, not necessarily indicative of total units produced) Example - S02021234 was issued in Feb.

Seems that Epiphone started the numbering over again, I called Epiphone Factory reps and was told S7019737 was made in 2000s.

In case of no serial (or poorly to read), the electronic components of an electric guitar can be a clue.

The production code of the potentiometers, for example, can give an indication of the year of construction of the guitar.

Epiphone Serial Number Check