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Serial Numbers

SERIAL NUMBERS OFTEN ALLOW YOU TO DETERMINE YEAR OF MANUFACTURE

Serial numbers for the Military & Police ranged from number 1 in the series to 20,975. Most of the early M&P revolvers chambered in.38 Special appear to have been sold to the civilian market. 4 By 1904, S&W was offering the.38 M&P with a rounded or square butt, and 4-, 5-, and 6.5-inch barrels.

Knowing the year your vintage firearm was made makes it easier to decide which gun catalog we sell will give you the best information about the company, models made and more. To help you determine the year made, find your serial number and then select a link from those below to sites that offer serial dates.

A new serial number system. The new system consists of four sets of digits separated by a hyphen. The first set is the manufacturers code, the second designates the type of firearm, the third set is the firearms chronological number, the fourth set shows the year of mfg. AYA 1995-2006 Year ser. # end 199516-03-001-95 16-03-800-95. Smith & Wesson date of manufacture by serial number? I purchased my SWMP40 in April, on the case it came in the 'born-on' date actually appears on the box label next to the serial number in the form yjjj where y is a single digit representation of the year, e.g. 6 = 2006, 7 = 2007, etc. And jjj is a three digit day-of-year date. Smith & Wesson Revolver Serialization 3 Letter Prefixes AAA - VAR. On production dates for Smith & Wesson Revolvers with 3 Letter Serial Number Prefixes. Seems like a quick internet search is all that's required to match a serial number to a manufacture date.

The Blue Book of Used Gun Values offers serial numbers for the following makers:

AYA, Boss & Co., Ltd, Browning, EJ Churchill, Colt, Colt Black Powder 2nd Gen, John Dickson & Son, AH Fox, German early Date Codes, German Modern Date Codes, Stephen Grant, WW Greener, Harrington & Richardson, High Standard, Holland & Holland, Italian Year of Mfg. Date Codes, Ithaca Gun Co., Charles Lancaster, Joseph Lang, Marlin Firearms, Mauser Broomhandles, Parker Brothers Shotguns, Piotti, James Purdey, Remington Date Code & SxS Shotguns, Savage/Stevens, LC Smith, Smith & Wesson, Spanish Year of Mfg. Date Codes, Sturm, Ruger & Co., Winchester Rifles, Winchester Rifle & Shotgun 1969+, Winchester Shotguns.

Other websites that may help (Information from websites other than the manufacturer website should be examined with some skepticism):

Smith Serial Number Dates

High Standard Pistols Serial Ranges 1932-1942
Ithaca Guns - Baker, Crass, Lewis, Manier, Magnum, Pre-WWII choke marks, Lefever Singles, Flues, Knick, Lefever Grade A, NID, Western Long Range
Ithaca Guns Serial Numbers and Date of Manufacture
(containing serial information about: Baker DB Shotguns, Crass DB Shotguns, Lewis DB Shotguns, Manier DB Shotguns, Flues SB and DB Shotguns, NID DB Shotguns, Knick SB Trap Guns, LeFever Nitro Special DB Shotguns, LeFever 'A' Grade, Western Long Range DB Shotguns, Model 37 Standard Model Shotguns, Model 37 Solid Rib Shotguns, Model 37 All Grade Guns.
Lancaster, Charles (London) 1826-1901
Lefever Sideloack Shotguns 1913 & Later (not serial numbers)
Lefever Sideloack Shotguns before 1913 (not serial numbers)
Mossberg did not put serial numbers on most long guns until 1968 (GCA 1968 required them)
Remington - Navy Single Shot Pistols, Model 8, 81, 24, 241, RB Pistols (Types- not serial), RB Rifles- 1870, 71, RB Rifle Models- 1866-1933, Contract Lee Rifles, Pistols and Revolvers 1857-1918 (incomplete serial number for some), Rifles 1866-1933 (ditto), Shotguns 1874-1910 Serial numbers unknown.
Smith & Wesson - Single Action Pistols, First Model .22, Second Model .22, New Departure Safety Hammerless, Ladysmith 1902-1911+
Springfield Model 1873 and 1884 Rifles, Model 1873 Shotgun, Model 1903 Rifle, 1903A3 by Smith Corona Co.
Stevens (description, illustration and years made)- Stevens did not put serial numbers on all long guns until 1968 (GCA 1968 Required them)

Smith Wesson Age By Serial Number