The Bronica SQ series is a line of 6x6 medium format SLR camera system introduced in 1980. Production of the last Bronica SQ-Ai model (including lenses and accessories) finished at the end of September 2003, with sales continuing until inventories were depleted.

As one of the oldest and most widely recognized brands in music, Gibson has crafted some of the most cherished and valuable instruments of all time. Determining exactly when your Gibson specimen was made can have high stakes attached to it. A difference of only one year - sometimes even several months - can mean a four-figure difference in value.

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Introduced in January 1983, the SQ-Am was a 'integrated motor-drive only' version SQ-A body (in other words, the SQ-Am has no manual film advance). Up to this date installing the accessory motor drive to the SQ series of Bronicas was a tricky and somewhat unreliable process. To make a reliable motor-driven SQ, therefore, the motor was incorporated into the body of the SQ-Am.

Our hope is to make the dating process and, in turn, the valuation as easy, accurate and transparent as possible. You should be able to use this guide to determine the year of your instrument and then consult the Reverb Price Guide to find its value, all for free.

For many vintage instruments, determining the date of manufacture involves little more than running the serial number through a reference guide.

Whereas Martin guitars have been using a single, consistent numbering system since the 19th century, Gibson has used several different serial number formats since its inception in 1902, meaning that some formats and numbers overlap across decades. This makes it especially important to first identify the general era during which your instrument was made before pinning down the exact date of manufacture with a serial number.

If you know the backstory around when the instrument was purchased, this can provide some rough clues about its era. The most general physical piece of evidence on the instrument, however, is going to be the logo on the headstock.

1902 to Late-1920s

The original logo featured the words 'The Gibson' inlaid in pearl at a slant, with an almost hand-written cursive font. This is sometimes referred to as the slanted script logo.

Some earlier specimens from 1903 to 1907 did not slant the logo, or went without a logo entirely. Specimens built before 1902 had a star inlay or crescent in place of a logo.

Late-1920s to 1933

The script logo continues without the slant. Some flattop guitars of this era started to omit the word 'The' from the inlay.

1933 to 1947

By 1933 Gibson had dropped the 'The' from all of their logos while retaining the script 'Gibson.' The original thin script was replaced with a thicker font on higher-end models in the mid-’30s, and across the entire lineup by the end of the decade.

From 1943 to 1947, the logo was a thick golden script, known as the banner logo. Some models (LG-2, J-45, SJ, select L-50s) included an actual banner reading 'Only a Gibson Is Good Enough' in the middle of the headstock.

1947 to Present

The block logo debuted after WWII and remains the face of the company. There were minute changes to which letters were connected in the font between 1961 to 1981, but the main logo had the same look.

1968 to 1972

Gibson stopped dotting the i in their logo on some of their instruments. Most models get a dotted i again in 1972, with the rest following suit from 1981 onward.

Aside from the logos, each era of manufacturing included certain identifying traits such as the hardware (tuners, knobs, plates, etc.), the pickups, the type of finish, and the electronics inside that can give clues as to when an instrument was made. But not a final verdict.

Many older instruments may have reproduction or other non-original parts, including a non-original finish. This makes relying entirely on the physical features of a guitar potentially misleading.

The thickness of the headstock, however, is not as vulnerable to modification or replacement. Before mid-1950, most Gibson headstocks were thinner at the top when looked at from a side profile. After 1950, headstocks had uniform thickness.

Dating a Gibson by Factory Order Number (FON)

Gibson has historically used two different alpha-numerical formats to catalog its instruments: serial numbers and FONs (Factory Order Numbers). Instruments will generally have one or both of these numbers stamped or written either inside the body (generally the case on earlier models) or on the back of the headstock.

FONs were Gibson’s way of internally tracking batches of instruments throughout production. These will generally date an instrument earlier than the serial number, as they were typically applied in the early stages of assembly.

Some earlier lower-end models had no serial number at all, making the FON the sole numerical identifier in those cases. A FON usually consisted of a 3-, 4-, or 5-digit batch number followed by one or two other numbers in most cases.

1902 to 1945 FON Overview

Year	FON Batch # Range
1902 - 1916	1 to 3650
1917 - 1923	11000 to 12000
1924 - 1925	11000A to 11250A (suffix included)
1925 - 1931	8000 to 9999
1931 - 1933	1 to 890
1934	1 to 1500
1935	1A to 1520A
1936	1B to 1100B
1937	1C to 1400C
1938	1D to 1000D
1939	1E to 980E
1940 - 1945	1 to 7900 (some with letter, some without)

From 1935 to 1942, the FON included a letter suffix. The consistency around this stopped during WWII and resumed in the early 1950s.

To complicate matters further, there was sometimes a second letter from 1938 to 1941 indicating the brand (G for Gibson, K for Kalamazoo, W for Recording King) and sometimes even a third letter indicating 'Electric' (the letter E). The year is indicated by the first letter in any series of letters for these years.

1935 to 1942 FON Letter Suffixes

Year	FON Letter Suffix
1935	A
1936	B
1937	C
1938	D, DA
1939	Ex (x being any other letter)
1940	F, FA
1941	E (with no other letters)
1941	G
1942	H

Throughout the war and even for some time after, each year had its own quirks around FON batch numbers and letters

1942 to 1951 FON Info

Year	FON or Letter Code
1942	907, 910, 923, 2004, 2005, 7000s (all with banner logo)
1943	9xx to 22xx
1944	22xx to 29xx (some without FONs)
1945	1xx to 10xx (many without FONS)
1947	700s to 1000s
1948	1100s to 3700s (move from script to block logo)
1949	2000s

Bronica Sq Serial Numbers