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. From 1902 to 1976, Gibson instruments have a serial number or a FON (Factory Order Number) or both. Dating gibson guitars by reference of serial numbers Gibson has used various methods of numbering from 1900, so it is not simply based on the serial number to identify the year of manufacture. 11 avis d'utilisateurs sur les produits Maison Guitars. Posted by Syd on Thu - Feb 10 - 4:50pm: In Reply to: 25 years old Maison guitar posted by Joe on Wed - Jan 26 - 12:35am: MAISON GUITARS. This means that just using the serial number of your Martin will give a very accurate date of when the guitar left the line. 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. It's actually a lot easier than you may think. So you need to figure out the date of your.