Guide / SELECTED VINTAGE GUITARS
Greco serial number decoder — year, month & identification
Decode vintage Greco serial numbers: A–L month codes, year and five-digit formats. Super Real, Mint Collection, factory evidence and exceptions.
SELECTED VINTAGE GUITARS / GRECO SERIAL DECODER
Check your Greco serial number
Enter the full number and select the series and country if known. Results show possible dates based on the documented patterns.
The number is checked on this page; it is not added to the URL or sent to a manufacturer lookup service.
Coverage: Japanese vintage patterns — A–L plus six digits (1975–1994), and five digits with an ambiguous decade. This is not a universal decoder for modern Greco guitars.
How to interpret the result and check the guitar ↓How do you read a Greco serial number?
The Greco decoder checks two commonly encountered vintage patterns: one letter followed by six digits, and five digits. Enter the complete guitar marking, keeping the letter and leading zeros. Spaces are accepted. The result depends on the format; it is not a factory-record search for an individual instrument.
First establish whether you are reading the guitar’s serial. A model designation such as EG, SE or SA plus a number is not a serial. Likewise, a stamp under a pickup or on a potentiometer describes a component. The form includes a component-code option to avoid confusing it with the guitar’s date.
A–L followed by six digits: month and year
In the supported 1975–1994 pattern, A–L represents January–December. The next two digits indicate the year. J825281 therefore reads as October 1982, and A775479 as January 1977. This is a pattern interpretation that must agree with the actual instrument.
We do not turn the final four digits into a day, model or quality grade. In this scheme F means June, not FujiGen. Outside 1975–1994, the form stops this interpretation because a similar-looking serial does not guarantee the same system.
Guitars590 — serials of the author’s own Greco guitars ↗
About the source: Collector research based on individual instruments; this is not an official manufacturer dating chart.
| Letter | Month |
|---|---|
| A | January |
| B | February |
| C | March |
| D | April |
| E | May |
| F | June |
| G | July |
| H | August |
| I | September |
| J | October |
| K | November |
| L | December |
Five digits: why is 45032 not enough?
In a five-digit number, the first digit can be interpreted as the final year digit, but it does not establish the decade. For 45032 the decoder shows 1984 and 1994 hypotheses. Dating to the 1980s or 1990s requires independent instrument features. This is not a rule covering every five-digit Greco.
Owner accounts also document 1990s instruments with a single year digit. Automatically placing “198” before that digit would therefore be misleading. This format provides neither a month nor a factory.
Tokai Forum — owner’s 1991 Greco with single year digit ↗
About the source: Collector research based on individual instruments; this is not an official manufacturer dating chart.
Super Real and Mint Collection: a serial does not settle the series
Super Real, Mint Collection and the model name are additional details to compare against catalogues and construction. We do not assign a series from the year alone or the shape of the logo’s “o”. An owner-documented 1991 SA-90 carries an original Mint Collection tag and serial D91 2848.
Look for a consistent combination of model markings, neck-joint construction, hardware and paperwork. One replaced part may differ from the rest. The decoder starts this comparison; it is not a catalogue of every Greco variation.
Tokai Forum — 1991 SA-90 serial and original Mint Collection tag ↗
About the source: Collector research based on individual instruments; this is not an official manufacturer dating chart.
Was the Greco built by FujiGen or Tokai?
The original 1981 Greco Information Catalogue Vol. 13 names FujiGen Gakki and Kanda Shokai on its back cover. This establishes manufacturing and distribution context for that publication. It does not prove that every Greco from every period came from the same factory.
Results separate dating from factory attribution. When the serial is insufficient, the factory field says “Not established by the serial number”. Naming a precise factory just because a format looks familiar would create false certainty.
Greco Information Catalogue Vol. 13 (1981), back cover — original catalogue scan ↗
What can internal markings add?
Collectors have published Greco photographs showing construction features and model markings associated with Tokai. Such inspection can be more useful than the serial alone, but it does not create a universal key. Document the individual guitar’s features and distinguish a factory interpretation from confirmed facts.
Tokai Forum — photographed Greco construction and Tokai model markings ↗
About the source: Collector research based on individual instruments; this is not an official manufacturer dating chart.
Missing serials, modern Grecos and component codes
An unreadable or absent serial does not establish a year or prove a counterfeit. Inspect marking locations, any refinishing history and available documents. Do not substitute a number from an unrelated component simply to get a result.
Modern series such as WS and GM have their own production context. The form excludes them from vintage rules. It also does not read acoustic guitars using electric-guitar patterns. This limits the tool’s scope, not the instrument’s quality.
A pickup or potentiometer code can aid date comparison if the component is original. It does not replace the completion date of the guitar. The part could have remained in stock, been replaced later or come from another instrument.
Greco / Kanda Shokai — current official range ↗
How should you check a Greco before buying?
Ask for photographs of the whole guitar, both sides of the headstock, serial and any reported repairs. Compare the decoder result with the listing. If the date, model and construction do not agree, resolve the difference before buying.
Do not require unnecessary neck or pickup removal. A workshop can help when external inspection and paperwork are insufficient. Pricing still depends on fret condition, electronics, neck and bridge function, and repair history.
Current Greco guitars at Selected Vintage Guitars appear below. The list uses our current published catalogue, rather than fixed product examples embedded in the article.
Unable to establish the year, or unsure about the result? Contact Selected Vintage Guitars — we can help identify your instrument from the available markings. Email shop@selectedvintageguitars.com with clear photographs of both sides of the headstock, the whole instrument, the serial number and the country-of-origin marking. Tell us where the serial is located and what you know about the guitar’s history and replacement parts. This lets us compare the number with the instrument’s features and suggest what to check next.
Contact Selected Vintage Guitars ↗
Japanese sources and the limits of decoding
We compared owner accounts with Qsic’s Japanese material based on instruments handled by the shop and photographs of their serials. Qsic explicitly describes its rules as unofficial. For five digits, our scope is 1980–1994; only an initial 0–4 leaves two possible decades.
Examples are not copied unchecked: for J816018, Qsic’s text says September although its A–L table indicates October. Our J interpretation is October. Such inconsistencies are why sources are provided and observations are distinguished from factory confirmation.
Qsic / Maeda (Japan) — inspected Greco instruments and serial photographs; unofficial dating ↗
About the source: Shop photographs and inspection account; the numbering explanation is not manufacturer documentation.
Serial number decoder — Fender ↗
Serial number decoder — Tokai ↗
Further reading
Guitars590 — serials of the author’s own Greco guitars ↗
Greco Information Catalogue Vol. 13 (1981), back cover — original catalogue scan ↗
Tokai Forum — owner’s 1991 Greco with single year digit ↗
Tokai Forum — 1991 SA-90 serial and original Mint Collection tag ↗
