Need help with Gibson serial numbers asap!

[Elvis2]

I might be buying a white Gibson Les Paul Custom of unknown vintage tomorrow, problem is i cant decipher the serial number, it just doesnt fit with the numbers Gibson provide and i am therefore suspecting that this guitar might be a fake..
The serial number is 59092561 the number is embedded in the back of the headstock, not printed and it says made in use underneath.
If i understand Gibsons eight digit serials correctly this would indicate that this guitar is made in september 1952 which would certainly make this a very rare Les Paul (im joking but thats what my limited understanding of serials tells me..)
This guitar might be old, the colour and binding has started to yellow, please help me identify this guitar!

Ps i also ran the serial through the epiphone serial thingie in case somebody had slapped a Gibson decal on the headstock and according to them this guitar was made in korea in 1959.. somehow i find that hard to believe..

[musophilr]

It would also imply the instrument was made in Nashville, again completely unbelievable for 1952.

Digits 2-4 are the day in the year when the instrument received its serial number. 001 = 1st Jan (but I can't imagine even Americans working on New Year's Day), 031 = 31st Jan, 032 = 1st Feb etc. So 909 makes no sense, the max possible being 366 in a leap year.

Maybe the axe isn't a genuine Gibbo.

8-digit serial numbers were not used until late 70s maybe early 80s so now I'm thinking the axe is most unlikely to be a genuine Gibbo. That may reduce its financial value significantly, but if it sounds good and feels good and looks like you want it to you might get a playable bargain.

[Elvis2]

I converted my currency to pounds and i would be paying approximately 1220 pounds for it, thats not much for a Gibson Les Paul Custom but its a ton of money for a copy..

[rdmf48]

Looked at my copy of the "Blue Book". Gibson started using impressed 8 digit numbers in 1977. The number sequence should be YDDDYPPP, where YY is the production year, DDD is the day of the year, and PPP is the plant where the instrument was made( 001-499 is Kalamazoo, and 500-999 is Nashville).

[ianpdq]

Have a read of this first http://forums.gibson.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=1770

[andrewrg]

There were no Customs in 1952-they were all goldtops with 5-digit numbers. Are you sure the first digit isn't an 8? It would make a lot more sense; some serial numbers are quite hard to read.
Also you can't 'slap' a decal on a Custom; the logo would be inlaid and anyway the headstock shape of an Epiphone is nothing like a Gibson.

[nsureit]

...of the guitar, headstock, and reverse. Then, we can help. Also, Gibson US will help you on the phone: 1-800-4GIBSON (1-800-444-2766)

[KrisUK]

That serial number does not make no sense whatsoever. It doesn't fall under Gibson's serial numbers at all unless you've misread any of the numbers.

If you have it right, it's a fake. Avoid it like the plague.

[nocaster]

Agree with Kris. Stop talking rubbish about it being a '52.

I had a similar thing with a LP that was thought to be a 1985 and it actually was a 1995 but the embossed serial wasn't done as well as it should therefore the lower left part of the 9 made it look like an 8.

My guess is that the guitar is a 1992 and the first digit that looks like a 5 is a 9. Notice how it's only the top right part of the 5 joined up makes it a 9? Same thing that happened to my 1995 model.

K

[Elvis2]

Look guys, i was joking about it being a 52 model Les Paul Custom, even i know theres no such thing.
I have the guitar in my hands now and it looks, feels and sounds pretty damm authentic, i havent paid for it yet because im still trying to verify that its the real thing.
Its a custom shop model if that makes any difference, do they have a different system to their serial numbers? Im not sure..
The obvious indications of it being a fake (apart from the serial number) arent there, the truss rod cover has 2 screws, the logo isnt wrong in any way, gold hardware/arctic white, grover tuners and the hardware matches that of my les paul standard exept that its gold plated.
Pictures being taken as we speak, will upload them asap.