There is a stamp on the back of the shell, under the C-stick. There are a few variations for this stamp, and it’s a great tool to identify what kind of internals it has. This guide also includes WaveBird stamps and stickers.
Wired
Blank: This is found on the controllers made with T1 internals. It can be found on the Indigo, Jet Black, Spice Orange, Indigo/Clear (rarely), and on the Panasonic Q SH-TGC10 as seen here.
DOL-003 is the model number for the GameCube controller.
This stamp was used from the launch of the GameCube up to around the launch of the GameCube in Europe on May 3rd 2002.
CE: This is mostly found on controllers with T2 internals, but can also be T1 for the Indigo, Jet Black, Spice Orange and Indigo/Clear. Even though the Indigo/Clear is almost solely T1 in the US and Japan, it almost always has the CE stamp.
CE stands for “Conformité Européenne” (European Conformity), and is a certification mark that indicates that the product follow European conformity guidelines.
This stamp was used from around May 3rd 2002 up to around August 2003, where Nintendo stopped production of its GameCube console until Fall.
CE•: This is found on almost all the variants, except for the Panasonic Q SH-TGC10. It is solely T3 internals. The Indigo/Clear was made as a T3, but only in Europe.
This stamp was used from around August 2003 up to the demise of the White GameCube controller sometime in 2014.
•: This is found on Indigo and Jet Black controllers. T3 only.
Since there is no CE marking, I assume it wasn’t certified for the European market yet, so most likely early production before the production hiatus in 2003.
CE• Made in Japan: Found exclusively on the Indigo and Jet Black controllers, T3 only.
I assume the production of the GameCube and its accessories was briefly brought back to Japan before the production hiatus in 2003. As far as I know those are solely found in Japan.
• Made in Japan: Found exclusively on the Indigo and Jet Black controllers, T3 only.
Same as above, but since there is no CE marking, I assume it wasn’t certified for the European market yet, so most likely early production before the production hiatus in 2003.
Trash Can: From the Smash 4 controllers onward.
It was also present on a few White controllers from 2008, which means it was probably intended to be sold on the international market, either early or late into its production.
The trash can and black line symbol, called the “Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive” (WEEED) is a set of directives from Europe that sets recycling targets for electronics. It is required on electronics distributed in Europe, and the black line means that the product was put on the market after 2005.
The triangle with a check mark (Regulatory Compliance Mark), simply means that the product is safe to use and is required on electronics in Australia.
The VCCI mark (Voluntary Control Council for Interference by Information Technology Equipment) is a Japanese set of regulations on electromagnetic interference, and is required on electronics in Japan.
DOL-002 (BRA): A solid plastic sticker put over the original stamp that says “DOL-002 (BRA)” instead of DOL-003.
Nintendo had a partnership with Gradiente to distribute GameCube consoles into the Brazilian market.
Only Indigo and Jet Black controllers were made, with a matching sticker. The Jet Black has grey lettering while the Indigo one has white lettering.
Wavebird
There are only two variations of the stamp on the WaveBird, “Blank” and “CE 0125” The Grey and Platinum WaveBirds can have both variants, while the Club Nintendo WaveBird is exclusively “Blank” and the Char Gundam WaveBird is exclusively “CE 0125”.
“CE” stands for “Conformité Européenne” (European Conformity), and is a certification mark that indicates that the product follow European conformity guidelines, so the Blank stamp was put on early Grey and Platinum WaveBirds in the US and Japan. However, the Club Nintendo WaveBird was released in late 2005, which probably means that by that point, the WaveBird was going out of production and wouldn’t be sold in the European market anymore.
“0125” refers to the “Notified Body”, the independent organisation who tested and certified the product. It seems to have been “TÜV Rheinland LGA Products GMBH“, a German company who tested compatibility with directives about Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (among other things) until 2009. The exclamation mark means the device might use frequencies that are illegal in some countries in Europe. Huge thanks to bluesun for this info!
On top of the channel wheel, you can see a few extra engraved information that is on every single WaveBird produced. It includes the model number (DOL-004), battery information and the FCC ID (EW4DOLAW) and IC (4250A-DOLAW).
The Platinum, Club Nintendo and Gundam Char WaveBirds all have this silver sticker inside the battery compartment which notes the model number (DOL-004), the serial number (A0000968 in this case) and a number for the technical standard conformity certification by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in Japan [Soumu] (01NYCA1072). The serial number is unique to each variant. The Grey WaveBird does not have this sticker as it was never released in Japan.
Both receiver stamp variants, so “FCC” and “CE FCC”, with a “CANADA 210” right under them. The Canada stamp stands for the Radio Standards Specification RSS-210, which is the equivalent to the FCC over here.
On top of that, you have the model number (DOL-005) and the electric rating (3.3V=0.15A 0.5W)
The GCC Library 