1960's Gibson SG. Value???

[Kevo]

Hi my name is Kevin and I am new here. Two years ago my neighbor traded me a 1960's Gibson sg for my acoustic fender. He says he thinks is a '65 but he is not sure. I was wondering... How can I know the exact year of its production and its value? The number on the back is 513386. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

[billdraper]

I don't know too much but here is a link with some information that might help Id the year.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_SG

 

Bill

[L5Larry]

The era of this guitar (and serial number) comes up in a really bad time for Gibson record keeping. I can usually comes up with a good date by crossreferencing two or more published sources. But the 500,000's are about as bad as it gets.

 

According to my resources that number COULD have been used in '65, '66, '68, '70 & '74. There are many other (and better) ways to date an SG from this period as they went through many changes. Post some detailed pics of your guitar and the knowledgable people around this website will probably be able to tell you more than you ever wanted to know.

 

The one part of most electric guitars that are "date coded" are the potentiometers. If you take off the back access plate, you will see the numbers on the back of the pot cans (sometimes goobered up with solder). Post those numbers, and it can be determined when the pots were made, if they are original, that gives a pretty good indication of born-on date for the guitar.

[Oringo]

It could help narrow it down if it says "Made in USA" under the serial number.

If so, it would be from the '70's. If not, '65 or '68 (or'66 as L5Larry mentioned).

Do check those pot codes and post a picture!