Product Dating & Value

You can look up the manufacturing date of your guitar by serial number here. If your guitar does not have a serial number and was manufactured prior to 1898, it may only be identifiable by measurements, appointments and stampings. If that is the case, you can send photos and a description of the instrument here.

A Martin Guitar will have the model designation and the serial number etched on the neck block. Look in the soundhole toward the neck to see where this is etched.

Martin guitars are made in Nazareth, Pennsylvania with the exception of the X Series, Backpacker Series, Road Series, Dreadnought Junior, PA5 models, and select ukuleles which are made in our plant in Mexico.

Martin Guitar cannot appraise your guitar for you. We recommend contacting an independent appraiser for assistance or referencing the Blue Book of Guitars.

Martin Guitar’s position is not an intermediary between a purchaser and seller to validate or discredit a seller's or purchaser's claim about an instrument. We suggest you contact an independent consultant to verify any used Martin product for sale.

The Goya series was imported from Korea and available for sale at an affordable price point from 1980-1993. They came with a one-year warranty to the original owner. Serial numbers and specifications were not kept on the models offered in the Goya series.

The Shenandoah series guitars were considered a mid-range model priced between the Sigma series and higher end Martins. Available from 1983 – 1993, they were assembled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania from imported parts. Shenandoah series guitars included tortoise-style pickguards and the Martin Thinline pickup as standard features. The models included a lacquer finish with tops made of solid spruce, necks made of mahogany, and the fingerboards and bridges made of rosewood. The back and sides were made from laminates, rosewood, mahogany, or maple. The Shenandoahs came with the limited lifetime warranty to the original, registered owner. You can determine the year your Shenandoah was manufactured by its serial number

The Sigma series was imported from Japan (later from Korea and Taiwan) and available for sale at an affordable price point from 1970 - 2007. All Sigma guitars are constructed with laminated (ply) backs and sides. The Sigma series also included banjos and mandolins also constructed with laminated (ply) backs and sides. Martin Guitar did not keep Sigma serial number records. As such, Sigmas and Mandolins cannot be accurately dated.