diff --git a/samples/Makefile b/samples/Makefile
index 01ad6f983..70e5ff760 100644
--- a/samples/Makefile
+++ b/samples/Makefile
@@ -161,6 +161,7 @@ DIRLIST = tutorial geos atari2600 atari5200 apple2 gamate lynx supervision sym1
 
 EXELIST_apple2 =   \
         ascii      \
+        checkversion \
         diodemo    \
         enumdevdir \
         gunzip65   \
@@ -177,6 +178,7 @@ EXELIST_apple2enh = $(EXELIST_apple2)
 
 EXELIST_atari =    \
         ascii      \
+        checkversion \
         gunzip65   \
         hello      \
         mandelbrot \
@@ -197,6 +199,7 @@ EXELIST_atari5200 = \
 
 EXELIST_atmos =    \
         ascii      \
+        checkversion \
         hello      \
         mandelbrot \
         sieve      \
@@ -207,6 +210,7 @@ EXELIST_bbc = \
 
 EXELIST_c64 =      \
         ascii      \
+        checkversion \
         enumdevdir \
         gunzip65   \
         hello      \
@@ -220,6 +224,7 @@ EXELIST_c64 =      \
 
 EXELIST_c128 =     \
         ascii      \
+        checkversion \
         enumdevdir \
         gunzip65   \
         hello      \
@@ -231,12 +236,14 @@ EXELIST_c128 =     \
 
 EXELIST_c16 =      \
         ascii      \
+        checkversion \
         enumdevdir \
         tinyshell  \
         hello
 
 EXELIST_cbm510 =   \
         ascii      \
+        checkversion \
         gunzip65   \
         hello      \
         mousedemo  \
@@ -245,6 +252,7 @@ EXELIST_cbm510 =   \
 
 EXELIST_cbm610 =   \
         ascii      \
+        checkversion \
         gunzip65   \
         hello      \
         tinyshell  \
@@ -252,10 +260,12 @@ EXELIST_cbm610 =   \
 
 EXELIST_creativision = \
         ascii          \
+        checkversion \
         hello
 
 EXELIST_cx16 =     \
         ascii      \
+        checkversion \
         enumdevdir \
         gunzip65   \
         hello      \
@@ -266,10 +276,12 @@ EXELIST_cx16 =     \
         tgidemo
 
 EXELIST_gamate =   \
+        checkversion \
         hello
 
 EXELIST_geos-cbm = \
         ascii      \
+        checkversion \
         diodemo
 
 EXELIST_geos-apple = \
@@ -282,16 +294,19 @@ EXELIST_lynx = \
         notavailable
 
 EXELIST_nes = \
+        checkversion \
         hello
 
 EXELIST_osic1p = \
         notavailable
 
 EXELIST_pce = \
+        checkversion \
         hello
 
 EXELIST_pet =      \
         ascii      \
+        checkversion \
         enumdevdir \
         hello      \
         tinyshell  \
@@ -299,6 +314,7 @@ EXELIST_pet =      \
 
 EXELIST_plus4 =    \
         ascii      \
+        checkversion \
         enumdevdir \
         gunzip65   \
         hello      \
@@ -306,6 +322,7 @@ EXELIST_plus4 =    \
         sieve
 
 EXELIST_sim6502 =  \
+        checkversion \
         gunzip65
 
 EXELIST_sim65c02 = $(EXELIST_sim6502)
@@ -318,6 +335,7 @@ EXELIST_sym1 =     \
 
 EXELIST_telestrat = \
         ascii       \
+        checkversion \
         gunzip65    \
         hello       \
         mandelbrot  \
@@ -326,6 +344,7 @@ EXELIST_telestrat = \
 
 EXELIST_vic20 =    \
         ascii      \
+        checkversion \
         enumdevdir \
         hello      \
         mandelbrot \
diff --git a/samples/checkversion.c b/samples/checkversion.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1d3494a87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/samples/checkversion.c
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+
+/* Until 2.19 the __CC65__ macro was defined as (VER_MAJOR * 0x100) + (VER_MINOR * 0x10),
+ * which caused it to contain broken values in compiler releases 2.16 to 2.19. The
+ * macro was fixed some time after 2.19 to (VER_MAJOR * 0x100) + VER_MINOR.
+ *
+ * The following strategy can be used to still compare for less or greater versions,
+ * should this really be necessary or wanted - it is not recommended afterall.
+ */
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+
+#if ((__CC65__ & 0xff00) > 3) || ((__CC65__ & 0x000f) > 0)
+/* compiler version is 2.19-git or higher */
+# define VER_MAJOR       ((__CC65__ >> 8) & 0xff)
+# define VER_MINOR       (__CC65__ & 0xff)
+#elif ((__CC65__ & 0xff00) == 3)
+/* broken values in version 2.16 - 2.19-git before the bug was fixed */
+# define VER_MAJOR       2
+# define VER_MINOR       (((__CC65__ >> 4) & 0x0f) + 16)
+#else
+/* values before 2.16 */
+# define VER_MAJOR       ((__CC65__ >> 8) & 0xff)
+# define VER_MINOR       ((__CC65__ >> 4) & 0x0f)
+#endif
+
+/* define a new value that will work for comparing all versions */
+#define VERSION ((VER_MAJOR << 8) + VER_MINOR)
+
+int main(void)
+{
+    printf("__CC65__ defined as %04x\n", __CC65__);
+    printf("compiler version is %u.%u\n", VER_MAJOR, VER_MINOR);
+    if (__CC65__ == VERSION) {
+        printf("__CC65__ is defined correctly as (VER_MAJOR * 0x100) + VER_MINOR\n");
+        return EXIT_SUCCESS;
+    }
+    printf("__CC65__ is incorrectly defined as (VER_MAJOR * 0x100) + (VER_MINOR * 0x10)\n");
+    return EXIT_FAILURE;
+}