1968 Fender Jaguar

The 1968 Jaguar is a CBS-era model. F-stamped tuners. Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. The Jaguar's complex switching, short scale, and chrome control plates continue. Production was declining as the Jaguar lost market share. Serial numbers on the neck plate with F prefix (six digits). For 1968, numbers should match documented CBS-era ranges. Neck date stamps (now often ink-stamped rather than penciled) on the heel remain important. Potentiometer date codes (typically CTS or Stackpole pots with EIA source codes and date stamps like '304-6' + last two digits of year + week number) help verify the production date. F-stamped tuners. Chrome control plates with individual switches. Floating tremolo assembly. Two Jaguar-specific pickups with sawtooth shielding. Mute pad assembly. Pot codes corresponding to 1968. Serial on neck plate. Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. The finish should be nitrocellulose lacquer, though the transition to polyester was beginning at Fender. Nitro finishes check and wear naturally. Look for consistent aging — the finish should show wear at natural contact points (back of body, forearm area, behind the neck). Under UV/blacklight, original nitro fluoresces differently than poly finishes. Refinishes are detected by examining under the pickguard and in pickup cavities for color consistency. CBS-era Jaguars were often modified and the complex switching system was sometimes bypassed. Verify all controls are functional and original. Missing chrome plates, switches, or tremolo parts significantly affect value. The mute pad foam is almost always deteriorated — this is expected. At lower price points, some modifications may be acceptable for player instruments. CBS-era Jaguars share similar specifications. Brazilian rosewood distinguishes pre-1970 from later models. Production declined through the 1970s. The Jaguar was discontinued in 1975 before being revived in the 1990s.