This reverse dating scheme initially seems confusing and counterintuitive, but it is actually very effective. For instance, the first guitar completed on would have a serial number of B33401. One of the interesting side effects of this numbering and encoding system is that guitars built later in a given year will actually have a seemingly "lower" serial number. The last two digits indicate the build order on that day.įor example, a guitar with a serial number of B35012 can be decoded as follows:ī: Year built is 1985 (a rare find, indeed!)ģ50: Built on the fifteenth day of the year (365-350=15)ġ2: The twelfth guitar completed on this dayįrom this, we learn that the guitar in our example was the twelfth guitar finished on. The first group of three digits represent the days remaining in the year on the day the guitar was completed. The five digits of the serial number encode the day and order of manufacture for the guitar. The characters are comprised of a leading letter, denoting the year (see table below), followed by five digits. Essentially, each Heritage guitar is (ink) stamped with a six character serial number on the back of the headstock. One of the areas that causes the most confusion for new members of the Heritage Owners Club is how to decipher and understand the serial numbering system employed by the factory.
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