The first digit of this style serial number indicates the last digit of the year it was manufactured. For example, this Les Pauls serial number is 7_6227 so it was made in 1957. This is how to date a Gibson Les Paul from the 1950s.

How do you tell what year my Gibson is?

The 1st digit indicates the year of manufacture for the 4 & 5 digit serial numbers, these were used from 1989-1999. The 1st and 2nd indicate the year of manufacture for the 6 digit serial numbers which weve been using since 2000. Examples: 9 xxx = 1989 (4 digit number beginning with 9 used only in 1989)