Decode Your SEGA Serial Number!
Most people don't understand the serial number(s) printed on their sega console(s). Hopefully, this information will change that:
Reading the serial # from left to right:
- The first thing identified is the factory at which the console was assembled. It is represented by one number, one letter, or two letters.
- The next thing denoted is the year that the console was assembled. This is represented by the last digit of the manufacturing year (EX: "3" = 1993, "4" = 1994, etc...).
- Following the year indicator is the production run indicator, which is represented by one letter or one number.
- The last thing identified is the number of units produced during the production run up to the one in your possession. A single production run could consist of no more than 999,999 units.
Using the information above, here's a complete example:
One of my model 1601 consoles has the serial number "31V86978". This means that it was manufactured at factory 3 (of Taiwan) in 1991 during production run V and it was the 86,978th model 1601 console produced during that production run.