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Initially, the serial number of the Stratocasters made in Mexico was located on the front face of the headstock. It featured a prefix composed by two letters, “M”, which stands for “Mexico”, and another indicating the decade (“N” for the 1990s and “Z” for 2000s), followed by five or six numbers.
Obviously, there were some exceptions, like the California Series Stratocasters, whose serial number had the “AMXN” prefix. |
Some Mexican signature guitars followed the same serialization scheme, while others sported a “MSN” or “MSZ” prefix if made respectively in the ‘90s or in the 2000s. Oddly enough, some Stratocasters made in the ‘90s or in the 2000s featured a strange “MSN6” or “MSN7” prefix even though they were not made in 1996 or 1997. These guitars should be dated by reading the other dates on body, on the neck, underneath the pickguard or thanks to the 1996, 2004 and 2006 anniversary tags placed on the back of the headstock or on the neck plate.
In 2010, Fender decided to merge the serial number of the Signature Stratocasters made in Mexico with that of the other Mexican Stratocasters and moved it on the back of the headstock. Thus, since 2010, Fender Stratocaster made in Mexico featured a serial number with the simple “MX” prefix followed by the last two digits of the year (e.g. “MX12” for 2012) in bold, plus 5 or 6 digits indicating the guitar. However, in the first three months of 2010, an all numerals 8-digit serial number was used, with the “10” prefix in normal font, followed by six digits.
This scheme, clear and simple, actually is not a reliable method to date a Stratocaster. In fact, at the beginning of a new year the old decals were not instantly discarded and continued to be used into the new year. Usually new decals were applied only after ca. 4, 5 or 6 months.
In 2010, Fender decided to merge the serial number of the Signature Stratocasters made in Mexico with that of the other Mexican Stratocasters and moved it on the back of the headstock. Thus, since 2010, Fender Stratocaster made in Mexico featured a serial number with the simple “MX” prefix followed by the last two digits of the year (e.g. “MX12” for 2012) in bold, plus 5 or 6 digits indicating the guitar. However, in the first three months of 2010, an all numerals 8-digit serial number was used, with the “10” prefix in normal font, followed by six digits.
This scheme, clear and simple, actually is not a reliable method to date a Stratocaster. In fact, at the beginning of a new year the old decals were not instantly discarded and continued to be used into the new year. Usually new decals were applied only after ca. 4, 5 or 6 months.
Mexican Stratocasters serial numbers
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1990
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MN0 + 5 or 6 digits
|
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1991
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MN1 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MN0 + 5 or 6 digits |
|
1992
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MN2 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MN1 + 5 or 6 digits |
|
1993
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MN3 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MN2 + 5 or 6 digits |
|
1994
|
MN4 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MN3 + 5 or 6 digits |
|
1995
|
MN5 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MN4 + 5 or 6 digits |
|
1996
|
MN6 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MN5 + 5 or 6 digits |
|
1997
|
MN7 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MN6 + 5 or 6 digits |
|
1998
|
MN8 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MN7 + 5 or 6 digits |
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1999
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MN9 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MN8 + 5 or 6 digits |
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2000
|
MZ0 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MN9 + 5 or 6 digits |
|
2001
|
MZ1 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MZ0 + 5 or 6 digits |
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2002
|
MZ2 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MZ1 + 5 or 6 digits |
|
2003
|
MZ3 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MZ2 + 5 or 6 digits |
|
2004
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MZ4 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MZ3 + 5 or 6 digits |
|
2005
|
MZ5 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MZ4 + 5 or 6 digits |
|
2006
|
MZ6 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MZ5 + 5 or 6 digits |
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2007
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MZ7 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MZ6 + 5 or 6 digits |
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2008
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MZ8 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MZ7 + 5 or 6 digits |
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2009
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MZ9 + 5 or 6 digits
A few MZ8 + 5 or 6 digits |
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2010
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MX10 + 6 digits
10 + 6 or 7 digits A few MZ9 + 5 or 6 digits |
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2011
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MX11 + 6 digits
A few MX10 + 6 digits |
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2012
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MX12 + 6 digits
A few MX11 + 6 digits |
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2013
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MX13 + 6 digits
A few MX12 + 6 digits |
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2014
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MX14 + 6 digits
A few MX13 + 6 digits |
...And so on
