How do I date a Squier from the serial number?

Identify the prefix. JV and SQ are Japanese and date to 1982 to 1984. CN and VN are Korean and NC is Chinese, with the following digit giving the year within the 1990s. CY, ICS, IC and IS are followed by an explicit two-digit year, which makes modern Squiers among the easiest instruments in the Fender family to date.

What is the difference between CN and NC on a Squier serial?

CN identifies Korean production from the Cort plant and NC identifies Chinese production. They are the same two letters in the opposite order, printed small on a decal that is often worn. The country marking on the headstock is the reliable way to tell them apart.

Which Squiers are worth the most?

The JV and SQ instruments built at Fujigen in Japan between 1982 and 1984. They were made to compete with Japanese copies that were beating the American originals of the period, and they are the only Squiers that command significant prices. They are also the most frequently faked.

Does the series name tell me how old a Squier is?

No. Affinity, Bullet, Classic Vibe and Contemporary have all run for many years across several plants, and the same model has frequently been built in more than one country in the same year. The series tells you about specification; the serial tells you about age.

Serial number lookup

Squier serial number lookup

Decode a Squier serial to find the production year and the country it was built in. Squier shares Fender's numbering conventions but uses its own set of factory prefixes.

How Squier numbering works

Squier instruments have been built under contract in Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia and India, frequently with the same model in production at more than one plant in the same year. The prefix on the serial tells you which factory, and it is a far more reliable guide to origin than the model name.

The most collectable Squiers are the earliest ones. The JV and SQ instruments built at Fujigen in 1982–1984 were made to a standard that embarrassed the American production of the period, and they are the only Squiers that command serious money. They are also, unsurprisingly, the most faked.

For everything since, the format is straightforward: a factory prefix followed by the two-digit year. A modern Squier is usually easier to date accurately than a vintage Fender, because nobody was trying to be clever with the numbering.

Key facts

JV and SQ: Japan, 1982–1984. The original Squiers, built at Fujigen.
CN and VN: Korea, 1990s. Cort and Sung-Eum respectively.
NC: China, 1990s. Easily transposed with the Korean CN.
ICS, IC and IS: Indonesia, followed by the two-digit year.
CY: China, followed by the two-digit year.

What goes wrong

Transposing CN and NC. One is Korean and one is Chinese, and both are common.
Assuming the series name dates the instrument. Affinity, Bullet and Classic Vibe models have all run for many years across several plants.
Paying a JV premium on the strength of a serial alone. The neck stamp, pot codes and routing all need to agree.

Formats this lookup reads

Every format below has been sourced, documented and covered by tests before shipping. Formats we cannot verify are deliberately absent.

Serial formats supported for Squier
Format	Period	Confidence	Reviewed
Japanese JV and SQ serial (1982–1984)	1982–1984	high	29 July 2026
Korean letter-prefix serial (1990s)	1990–2000	medium	29 July 2026
Chinese NC-prefix serial (1990s)	1990–2000	medium	29 July 2026
Asian serial with explicit year	1993–2030	medium	29 July 2026

Squier serial number reference

Every format below is the same data the lookup above matches against. 4 formats are supported for Squier, and these tables set out what each one records.

Squier serial prefixes by country and period

Squier serial prefixes by country and period
Prefix	Country	Plant	Period
JV	Japan	Fujigen	1982–1984
SQ	Japan	Fujigen	1983–1984
CN0–CN9	Korea	Cort	1990–2000
VN0–VN9	Korea	Sung-Eum	1990–2000
NC0–NC9	China	Not identified	1990–2000
KC + year	Korea	Cor-Tek (Cort)	1993–2010
KV + year	Korea	Saehan (Sunghan)	1993–2010
CY + year	China	Yako	1997 onwards
ICS + year	Indonesia	Cort	2005 onwards
IC + year	Indonesia	Cort	2000 onwards
IS + year	Indonesia	Samick	2000 onwards

CN is Korean and NC is Chinese — the same two letters reversed. Where the headstock states a country, believe it over your reading of the prefix.

Common questions about Squier serial numbers

How do I date a Squier from the serial number?: Identify the prefix. JV and SQ are Japanese and date to 1982 to 1984. CN and VN are Korean and NC is Chinese, with the following digit giving the year within the 1990s. CY, ICS, IC and IS are followed by an explicit two-digit year, which makes modern Squiers among the easiest instruments in the Fender family to date.
What is the difference between CN and NC on a Squier serial?: CN identifies Korean production from the Cort plant and NC identifies Chinese production. They are the same two letters in the opposite order, printed small on a decal that is often worn. The country marking on the headstock is the reliable way to tell them apart.
Which Squiers are worth the most?: The JV and SQ instruments built at Fujigen in Japan between 1982 and 1984. They were made to compete with Japanese copies that were beating the American originals of the period, and they are the only Squiers that command significant prices. They are also the most frequently faked.
Does the series name tell me how old a Squier is?: No. Affinity, Bullet, Classic Vibe and Contemporary have all run for many years across several plants, and the same model has frequently been built in more than one country in the same year. The series tells you about specification; the serial tells you about age.