what year is my telecaster?

[thesweetness]

So i was fortunate enough to acuire what im told is a vintage tele. i hoping someone on here can help me place a date on it. here's the stats. It has a rosewood neck with no skunk stripe, which tells me its pre 1971. it has a 4 bolt neck plate with the F logo on it, so its post 1965. it seems to have fender tuners, not klusions. and the color is cream with a white pickguard, which i think is an aged olympic white. the serial number is 251793, and it has a black hard case. everything is original and in great shape, it was just sitting in my grandmothers closet...a tragedy i couldnt let continue. id appreciate hearing from anyone that may know exactly what year this beauty could be.

[Unburst]

According to the serial number it's a '58.

[jackaroo]

F-Series (late 1965 to mid-1976)
Big script "F" on neckplate below serial number. Known as the CBS era.
100000 to 110000 = late 1965
110000 to 200000 = 1966
180000 to 210000 = 1967
210000 to 250000 = 1968
250000 to 280000 = 1969
280000 to 300000 = 1970
300000 to 330000 = 1971
330000 to 370000 = 1972
370000 to 520000 = 1973
500000 to 580000 = 1974
580000 to 690000 = 1975
690000 to 750000 = 1976

Looks like a 69!

Sweet guitar!


cheers,

Jack

[wescattle]

PICs!!!!!!

[thesweetness]

thanks for the responses guys. couple other questions though. the serial number clearly points to 69, but in 69 fender used rosewood necks with a skunk stripe (or so ive read), mine has no skunk stripe. also this would mean the guitar has a poly coating on the neck and body? if so, why does it have the aged white look to it, perhaps it was just painted cream from the start? or did the early poly coats also age like the nitro cell laquers? and what wood type would the body be?

[clothwiring]

Pull the neck off as well see what date is on there also look at the dates of the pots. Don't get hung up with the poly coating...Fender experimented with poly coats as far back as 63. Poly will color with age as well... The body is probably (most likely) alder.

[thesweetness]

Not that I'd sell it, but how much would you say a 69 tele is worth in good condition/all original?

[brad347]

more than it should be! haha. No I dont know. But 70s teles are well over 2k and sometimes 3k lately so yours is probably above that.

[brad347]

see if this person sells his white '69. He wants almost 10k

http://cgi.ebay.com/1969-Fender-Tele...QQcmdZViewItem

[Mr. dB]

I would count on that body being painted standard Blonde, not Olympic White. The blonde on late '60s Teles was opaque with no grain showing through. My '66 is like that.

[Lucidology]

Originally Posted by jackaroo

F-Series (late 1965 to mid-1976)
300000 to 330000 = 1971
330000 to 370000 = 1972
370000 to 520000 = 1973
500000 to 580000 = 1974
580000 to 690000 = 1975
690000 to 750000 = 1976

Jack

Thanks jackaroo...
your just helped confirm my beat up old Tele as a '71...
too modified to be worth much...
but at least I know now, for sure, the year of it's birth ...

It certainly has it's own brand of Tele Mojo...

[Jerrod]

I think $8k is way too high. I bought a 69 maple neck Tele for $4k last fall, and there's a really nice one that's been on eBay (looks straight to me) and the guy's listed it several times at $5500 and it's failed to sell. I think the maple neck guitars draw a little more $ than the rosewood for those years.

[Jerrod]

If they're really worth that, then buy this guy's and flip it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...1141&rd=1&rd=1

[jackaroo]

The ones with the maple cap are generally the one's pulling big bucks- 7-10 K depending on weight, condition and color and of course, the retailer.

[smiert spionam]

The neck plate serial number is the least reliable indicator, since they were pulled nonsequentially from a large bin. Still a decent general indicator, but you should really be looking at the pots, neck stamp, body shape, neck construction, and finish details.

FWIW, I've got a '68/'69 tele that has an original nitro rosewood neck that's stamped Dec. 68, which is after most guitars were getting all-poly necks. There are no absolutely reliable timelines.