Winchester Serial Number Lookup: Year of Manufacture by Model, 1866 to 1994

Last updated October 9, 2026

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You’ve got a Winchester in your hands and you want to know what year it left New Haven. Good news: for most models you can get an answer in about a minute, and the numbers come from Winchester itself.

Winchester Repeating Arms publishes the serial number list its own customer service desk works from. It covers 34 models from the Model 1866 to the early 1990s. We copied every line of it onto this page, checked each number against the scanned original, and built a lookup on top so you don’t have to squint at a PDF.

One warning before you start. Winchester says plainly that these are approximate year-end numbers, not a perfect record. For a valuable gun, the list gets you close and a factory letter from the Cody Firearms Museum settles it. We cover both.

Table of Contents

Used Winchesters for Sale Right Now

Wondering what an older Winchester goes for today? These are the lowest-priced used ones our dealers list right now, pulled live. We left the current-catalog models out, so what you see is the older stuff people come here to date.

See every used Winchester in stock.

Where to Find the Serial Number on a Winchester

Winchester’s owner’s manuals say where the number is on each current model. Here’s what they say, in Winchester’s own wording, for the guns people ask us about most.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms owner’s manuals, winchesterguns.com/support/owners-manuals, accessed October 9, 2026.

Those manuals cover the lever guns and bolt guns Winchester sells now, plus a few late New Haven models. On the original 1873s and 1876s we’ve handled, the number is on the lower tang instead, behind the lever. On a Model 12 or a Model 1897, turn the gun over and look at the front of the receiver’s underside.

Write down every character, then look again in good light. A worn 3 reads like an 8 and a 1 hides in a scratch. The whole lookup depends on that one line of digits.

What about letters? The Cody records office says letters stamped at the end of an old Winchester serial number, or near it, are not part of the number and don’t appear in the factory ledgers. Later guns are different. From 1969 Winchester’s list shows a letter in front of the number on several models, and we cover those further down.

How to Read Winchester’s Serial Number List

Every line on Winchester’s list is a year and one number. That number is the last serial number assigned by the end of that calendar year. So you’re not looking for your exact number. You’re looking for the first line that is equal to it or higher.

Say your Model 94 reads 2345678. The 1957 line ends at 2290296, which is lower. The 1958 line ends at 2365887, which is higher. Your rifle got its number in 1958.

Some years say none, no record or not available. We left those exactly as Winchester printed them. If your number lands right after a blank year, the honest answer is a short span of years, and that’s what our lookup gives you.

How much should you trust it? Winchester is blunt about that. Its own page says there is no single, totally accurate database of serial numbers from 1866 forward, and that it makes no promise every number and year pairing is right. The list is a typed copy of customer service reference sheets, not the factory ledgers.

We’ve also seen the list and the ledgers disagree by a year or more on some guns. Treat the list as a strong first answer. It’s free, it’s fast, and for a working deer rifle it’s all most owners ever need.

Winchester Model 94 Serial Numbers by Year, 1894 to 1991

The Model 94 is the one we get asked about most, and its list is the longest. It runs from serial 1 in 1894 to 6008296 at the end of 1991. Winchester’s heading for this model says the numbers come from factory records and, in some years, estimates.

Three spots trip people up. First, the list has no record for 1943 through 1947 and picks up at 1500000 for 1948, so a number above 1221289 and up to 1500000 can only be pinned to that six-year span. Second, the list has no 1983 line at all. Third, there’s a hole around 1964.

That hole matters to buyers. The list ends 1963 at 2586000 and its footnote says the post-64 Model 94 began with serial number 2,700,000. Anything at 2586000 or below is a pre-64 gun by Winchester’s own list. If you’re shopping for one, our Winchester Model 94 review covers what changed and what to pay.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 9. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Winchester’s notes add a few landmarks. Serial 1,000,000 was presented to President Calvin Coolidge in 1927, serial 1,500,000 to President Harry Truman in 1948 and serial 2,000,000 to President Dwight Eisenhower in 1953. Serial 3,500,000 wasn’t built until 1979 and was sold at auction in Las Vegas.

A new Model 94 is a different animal with a different number, and the list won’t date it. Winchester still catalogs the carbine, and it starts at $1,189.99 with the sellers we track.

Winchester Model 70 Serial Numbers by Year, 1935 to 1992

The Model 70 list starts with just 19 rifles numbered in 1935 and runs to G2037985 in 1992. The line everybody wants is 1963. It ends at 581471, and the 1964 line starts fresh at 700000. So by Winchester’s list a Model 70 numbered 581471 or lower is a pre-64 rifle.

From 1969 the list shows a G in front of the number. Leave the G off when you use the lookup. Winchester prints the same number for 1991 and 1992, so the list can’t tell those two years apart.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 30. Accessed October 9, 2026.

We ran the current rifle hard for our Winchester Model 70 review, and the serial number is the first thing we check on any used one. A current Model 70 starts at $999.99 with the sellers we track, and its number won’t be on this list.

Winchester Lever-Action Serial Numbers

These are the rifles that built the name. Each table below is Winchester’s own list for that model, top to bottom, with nothing added. Remember that Winchester’s current 1866, 1873, 1886, 1892 and 1895 rifles are new production with their own numbers, so the tables only date the originals.

Model 1873

The 1873 list runs from serial 1 to 702042 at the end of 1919. Winchester adds that no last number is available for 1920 through 1923.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 3. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Winchester makes the 1873 again today. A new one starts at $1,299.99 with the sellers we track, which is a lot less than a clean original.

Model 1892

The 1892 list runs from 1892 to 1001324 at the end of 1932. The Cody records office notes that some Model 53s and 65s were numbered in with the 92s, so a number in this run isn’t always a plain Model 1892. We spent a season with the current rifle for our Winchester 1892 review.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 8. Accessed October 9, 2026.

A new-production 1892 starts at $1,069.99 with the sellers we track.

Model 1886

Winchester’s 1886 list is yearly through 1922. After that its note says no further numbers were recorded until the model was discontinued in 1935 at 159994.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 6. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 1866

The list for the Model 1866 opens at 12476, not at 1, and runs to 170100 in 1898. Winchester marks the model discontinued in 1899.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 2. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 1876

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 4. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 1895

Look at 1915. The list jumps from 72082 to 174233 in a single year and then to 377411 the year after. That’s how Winchester prints it, and we’ve left it alone.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 11. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 9422

Every number on the 9422 list carries an F in front. Leave it off in the lookup.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 10. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 53

The Model 53 is the odd one. Winchester says it was serially numbered along with the Model 92, so instead of serial numbers it lists how many were made each year. Its note puts total production at about 15100, counting 486 clean-up guns built after the model was discontinued in 1932.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 25. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 55

Winchester heads this one Model 55 Centerfire and marks the 1933 line as clean-up. The Cody records office notes that some later Model 55s were numbered in with the Model 94s.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 27. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 71

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 31. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 88

From 1969 the Model 88 numbers carry an H in front.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 33. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Winchester Shotgun Serial Numbers

Model 12

The Model 12 list runs from 5308 at the end of 1912 to 1962001 at the end of 1963. Winchester’s note says clean-up production ran from 1964 through 1966 and ended at serial 1970875. Our Winchester Model 12 buyer’s guide goes deep on chambers, grades and what they sell for.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 20. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Winchester lists the later run separately as the new style Model 12. Those numbers start with a Y.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 20. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 1897

Read Winchester’s note on this one before you trust a date. It says the records for the Model 1897 are incomplete, that the numbers from 1897 through 1903 and from 1949 through 1957 are estimates, and that actual records exist from 1904 through 1949. We’ve marked the estimated years in the table.

We dug into this for our Winchester Model 1897 buyer’s guide and found the printed list can run years off against the ledger dates on this model. If the year matters, and on a trench gun it matters a lot, get the Cody letter.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 12. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 1887

Winchester’s note says no guns were produced in the last few years of the model and it was discontinued in 1901.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 7. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 1901

The Model 1901 list opens in 1904 at 64856, one number past where the Model 1887 list stops. The Cody records office files the two models as a single serial run.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 13. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 42

One line here is a typo in the source. Winchester prints 51 twice in a row where the first should be 50. We’ve kept it as printed and flagged it.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 22. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 24

Winchester’s note says no records were kept on the Model 24 from 1949 until it was discontinued in 1958, so the list stops at 1948.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 21. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 50

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 23. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 1911 S.L.

Winchester’s note says the Model 1911 was discontinued in 1925, and that guns were built for three more years to use up parts, for about 82774 in all.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 19. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 120, 1200 and 1300

These three pump guns share one list, and every number carries an L in front. It starts in 1972, but Winchester’s note says Model 1200 production really began in 1964 at serial number 100,000 and those early records are no longer available. A low number here means 1972 or earlier, and that’s as close as the list gets.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 35. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Bolt Actions, .22 Rifles, Single Shots and Self-Loaders

Model 52

The Model 52 list runs from 1920 to 1978, with an E in front of the number from 1969. Winchester’s note says the model was discontinued in 1978 and a small clean-up was finished in 1979 at 125419.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 24. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 54

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 26. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 61

Winchester says it has no actual records for the Model 61 from 1949 through 1963. It took the total of 342001, subtracted the last known number of 115281, and split the difference evenly across those years. Every line from 1949 on is that estimate, and the last three are printed a year late.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 28. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 63

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 29. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 74

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 32. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 1885 Single Shot

The single shot list is yearly through 1913. Winchester’s note says no further numbers were recorded until the end of 1923, when the last number was 139700.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 5. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 1903

Winchester’s note says the Model 1903 was discontinued in 1932, then about 2000 more were built from leftover parts, and production stopped at serial 114962 in 1936.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 14. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 1905

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 15. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 1906

After 1932 Winchester’s note says clean-up production went on for a few years and reached about 729305.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 16. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 1907

Winchester says its actual records on the Model 1907 stopped in 1948. The numbers for 1949 through 1957 were worked out by dividing the remaining guns evenly, about 978 a year, up to the last number of 58486. We’ve marked those years as estimates.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 17. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 1910

Winchester’s note says clean-up production continued into 1937, when the total came to about 20786.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 18. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Model 100

From 1969 the Model 100 numbers carry an A in front.

Source: Winchester Repeating Arms, Winchester Firearms Manufacturing Dates by Serial Number and Year, page 34. Accessed October 9, 2026.

Letter Prefixes on Winchester Serial Numbers

Here’s every letter prefix that shows up on Winchester’s list, and the first year the list shows it. If your gun has one of these letters, type only the digits into the lookup.

Built from the tables above, which are copied from Winchester’s manufacture dates document, accessed October 9, 2026.

What Winchester’s List Doesn’t Cover

Plenty. Winchester says many of its guns are on the list but not all, and that if yours isn’t listed it probably has nothing more to give you. The Model 1890, the Model 62 and the Model 21 are three well-known ones that aren’t there.

The list also stops in the early 1990s. For anything newer, or for a model that’s missing, Winchester’s page says to call customer service in Morgan, Utah, at 800-333-3288. It says a more detailed answer is possible in some exceptional cases, so go in with modest hopes.

Winchester’s page also points owners to the Winchester Arms Collectors Association’s dates page as a second place to check a year. And for the missing older models, Cody’s ledgers reach guns the list doesn’t, including the Model 1890 and the Model 21.

What the Serial Number Doesn’t Tell You

A year is all you get from the list. It’s a useful year, but people ask a serial number to do a lot more than it can.

• What it’s worth. Winchester’s page says no attempt was made to value any gun on the list. Condition and originality set the price, and two rifles a hundred numbers apart can be thousands of dollars apart.
• Whether it’s original. The list has no barrel lengths, calibers or special-order features. A rebarreled or refinished gun keeps its number.
• Whether it’s stolen. No public list answers that, and this page doesn’t try. If you have doubts about a gun, call your local police or sheriff’s office and ask them to run the number.
• Who owned it. Even the factory ledgers rarely carry a customer’s name on a Winchester.

How to Get a Winchester Factory Letter From Cody

The original Winchester factory records live at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. Its Cody Firearms Records Office will search the ledgers for your serial number and mail you a signed factory letter. That letter is the proof collectors and auction houses ask for.

What you get depends on when the gun was made. For most Winchesters made from 1873 to about 1906, the office says configuration records survive. Those can give the caliber, barrel type, trigger type and any special-order features. For most guns made after 1906, the surviving record is only the date the serial number was applied.

Source: Cody Firearms Records Office, Winchester Factory Records and its 2026 Winchester order form, accessed October 9, 2026. Prices are the museum’s and can change.

Here’s the process as the museum lays it out.

1. Check that Cody has your number. The office publishes a list of available Winchester serial number ranges, and we’ve pulled the popular models into the table below.
2. Print the order form and mail it with payment, or use the online order form on the museum’s Winchester records page. When we checked, the museum said its online forms were having technical trouble and asked people to print the form or email the office.
3. Pick standard or priority delivery and add that fee. It’s charged per order, not per letter.
4. Wait about four weeks from payment. If the office has no record for your gun, it says it will tell you and return your check or not charge your card.

The records office answers the phone at 307-578-4031. Center of the West firearms members get free or discounted letters and quick serial number searches by email, which is worth a look if you own more than a couple of Winchesters.

Which Winchesters Cody Can Letter

This is the part most owners miss. Cody doesn’t have every number. A Model 94 can be dated by the ledgers up to serial 1352066, but a Model 70 only falls in the records for one small block of numbers.

Source: Cody Firearms Records Office, Available serial number ranges, Winchester, accessed October 9, 2026. The office says small gaps exist inside these ranges.

What It’s Worth, and Selling It

Now you know the year. The next question is always money. Start with condition, because a year without a grade tells a buyer very little. Our gun values guide walks through the NRA condition grades and shows how to turn a grade into a price.

If you’re selling, the year belongs in the listing along with the model, caliber and barrel length. Our guide on how to sell a gun covers where each kind of Winchester sells best and what each channel costs you. For a private sale, print our free firearm bill of sale and write the serial number on it exactly as it’s stamped.

Got one of the old pump guns? The Winchester Model 12 buyer’s guide and the Winchester Model 1897 buyer’s guide both have sold-price tables by grade. And if the lookup just told you your Model 94 is a pre-64, read the Winchester Model 94 review before you take the first offer.

Serial Number Lookups for Other Makers

Got more than one old gun in the safe? We’ve built the same kind of page for six other makers, each from that maker’s own records where they exist.

• Browning serial number lookup: Browning’s two-letter date code decoded, with its own dating pages for the Auto-5, Citori, Hi Power and BAR.
• Ruger serial number lookup: Ruger’s own year tables by model from 1949 to 2017, with a quick year finder.
• Remington serial number lookup: How to read the barrel date code on an 870, 700 or 1100, plus factory serial tables for the older models.
• Marlin serial number lookup: Reading the year from the serial number prefix on a 336, 39A or Model 60.
• Colt serial number lookup: How Colt’s own online lookup works, the ranges the ATF list puts years on, and what an archive letter costs.
• Smith & Wesson serial number lookup: No year chart exists for these, so it covers what the number format tells you and how to get a factory letter.

Photo credits: the lead photo of a Model 1873 One of One Thousand at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is by Gabon100, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.

Winchester Serial Number FAQ