http://www.electricfender.com/fender-serial-numbers/

http://www.electricfender.com/fender-serial-numbers/

Serials/Dates of Manufacture

Dating your Japanese made Fender by its serial is an inexact science but the following table will give you a reasonable idea of its date of manufacture. NOTE large scale official export to the UK/USA/Europe stopped around 98/99 with the 'B' serial. 

*Note: From mid -1997 serials are prefaced by 'Crafted in Japan'. Prior to that exported guitars bore the phrase 'Made in Japan'. There is no intrinsic quality difference in the guitars themselves as far as I can tell from the many I have owned. Beware of Ebay vendors telling you the 'Made in...' is better then 'Crafted in....', or vice versa. It is the specification that counts, not the label.