Winchester Model 12 (Model 1912) serial numbers by year
The hammerless pump shotgun Winchester sold as “the Perfect Repeater.” Regular production ran from 1912 to 1963, with Custom Shop guns, the 1972–1980 Y-series line, and a Miroku-built limited run following.
- Produced:
- 1912–1963 (regular), 1964–1980 (Custom Shop and Y-series), c. 1993–2006 (Miroku)
- Action:
- pump-action
What year was your Model 1912 made?
Winchester Model 12 value: what it sells for at auction
133 Winchester Model 12s sold one gun to a lot at Rock Island Auction Company (72) and Morphy Auctions (61) between Sep 2023 and Sep 2026. The table groups them the way the auction house coded each lot: antique, curio and relic, or modern. Half of the guns in each row sold inside the “most sell between” range; a quarter sold below it and a quarter above. Eight in ten sold inside the wider “nearly all between” range.
Standard guns only. Left out: deluxe and special-order guns (checkered or fancy wood, pistol grips, odd barrel lengths, special sights), engraved, inscribed, presentation, and commemorative pieces, and lots of two or more guns. A deluxe or special-order gun sells for more than these figures, often several times more. Condition and originality drive most of the spread inside a row.
Enter your serial number above and this section picks out the row for your gun’s era and lists the most recent sales like it.
| Era | Sales | Most sell between | Typical | Nearly all between |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curio & Relicat least 50 years old at the time of sale | 132 | $738 – $4,186 | $1,959 | $494 – $8,771 |
By configuration
The same sales split by what the lot title called the gun, all eras together.
| Configuration | Sales | Most sell between | Typical | Nearly all between |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Field | 86 | $642 – $4,039 | $1,704 | $466 – $8,900 |
| Skeet | 25 | $1,410 – $4,406 | $2,337 | $816 – $7,687 |
| Trap | 8 | $1,446 – $3,525 | $1,958 | $978 – $4,230 |
| Pigeon Grade | 6 | $2,673 – $8,665 | $7,344 | $1,365 – $9,106 |
| Heavy Duck | 6 | $695 – $1,131 | $930 | $582 – $3,232 |
These are sold prices for standard guns, not an appraisal. Prices realized as published by each house after the sale; both houses' figures include the buyer's premium. A dealer buying for resale will offer less than these figures; a private sale between collectors often lands near the typical price for the gun’s condition. If your gun has factory upgrades, a factory letter that confirms them is what moves it above these numbers. Updated after each major sale. The full picture, model by model →
Where the serial number is
Bottom of the receiver (underside, forward of trigger guard).
Why the sources give different years
Nobody kept one official list of which Winchester Model 12 serial numbers were made in which year. The dates come from the original factory record books, now held by the Cody Firearms Museum, the tables in George Madis's Winchester books, compiled decades after the guns were made, a list typed up by Winchester's customer-service desk, which mixes real records with estimates, and other published compilations, each named above its table. For some serial numbers these sources are years apart, so this page shows what each one says instead of picking one.
Madis vs. factory dates lists every model where the sources part ways, with a real serial number from each.
Sources for this model: Madis / legacy Winchester customer-service year-end table · NRA Museum-published Polishing Room SNA year-end table · Later Y-series
Winchester Model 12 serial numbers by year
The full Model 12 serial number chart, one table for each published source. Each row gives the serial numbers that source assigns to a year. Find the row your number falls in.
A row marked “sources differ” is a serial range that another table on this page dates to a different year. For the Model 12 that is true of most of the run, so treat any single year as an estimate and read the notes below the tables. A row marked “approximate” comes from a table whose figures are estimates rather than factory records.
George Madis's published tables
From George Madis's Winchester books, a collector reference compiled decades after production. The figures are year-end estimates, not counts from the factory books.
Cited as: Madis / legacy Winchester customer-service year-end table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1912 | 1 – 5,308 |
| 1913 | 5,309 – 32,418 |
| 1914sources differ | 32,419 – 79,765 |
| 1915sources differ | 79,766 – 109,515 |
| 1916sources differ | 109,516 – 136,412 |
| 1917sources differ | 136,413 – 159,391 |
| 1918sources differ | 159,392 – 183,461 |
| 1919sources differ | 183,462 – 219,457 |
| 1920sources differ | 219,458 – 247,458 |
| 1921sources differ | 247,459 – 267,253 |
| 1922sources differ | 267,254 – 304,314 |
| 1923sources differ | 304,315 – 346,319 |
| 1924sources differ | 346,320 – 385,196 |
| 1925sources differ | 385,197 – 423,056 |
| 1926sources differ | 423,057 – 464,564 |
| 1927sources differ | 464,565 – 510,693 |
| 1928sources differ | 510,694 – 557,850 |
| 1929sources differ | 557,851 – 600,834 |
| 1930sources differ | 600,835 – 626,996 |
| 1931sources differ | 626,997 – 651,255 |
| 1932sources differ | 651,256 – 660,110 |
| 1933sources differ | 660,111 – 664,544 |
| 1934sources differ | 664,545 – 673,994 |
| 1935sources differ | 673,995 – 686,978 |
| 1936sources differ | 686,979 – 720,316 |
| 1937sources differ | 720,317 – 754,250 |
| 1938sources differ | 754,251 – 779,455 |
| 1939sources differ | 779,456 – 814,121 |
| 1940sources differ | 814,122 – 856,499 |
| 1941sources differ | 856,500 – 907,431 |
| 1942 | 907,432 – 958,303 |
| 1943sources differ | 958,304 – 975,640 |
| 1944sources differ | 975,641 – 975,727 |
| 1945sources differ | 975,728 – 990,004 |
| 1946sources differ | 990,005 – 1,029,152 |
| 1947sources differ | 1,029,153 – 1,102,371 |
| 1948sources differ | 1,102,372 – 1,176,055 |
| 1949sources differ | 1,176,056 – 1,214,041 |
| 1950sources differ | 1,214,042 – 1,252,028 |
| 1951sources differ | 1,252,029 – 1,290,015 |
| 1952sources differ | 1,290,016 – 1,328,002 |
| 1953sources differ | 1,328,003 – 1,399,996 |
| 1954sources differ | 1,399,997 – 1,471,990 |
| 1955sources differ | 1,471,991 – 1,541,929 |
| 1956sources differ | 1,541,930 – 1,611,868 |
| 1957sources differ | 1,611,869 – 1,651,435 |
| 1958sources differ | 1,651,436 – 1,690,999 |
| 1959sources differ | 1,691,000 – 1,795,500 |
| 1960sources differ | 1,795,501 – 1,800,000 |
| 1961–1962sources differ | 1,800,001 – 1,956,990 |
| 1963 | 1,956,991 – 1,962,001 |
| 1964–1966sources differ | 1,962,002 – 1,970,875 |
- 1961–1962: No number is published for 1961. This row covers the whole 1961–1962 stretch between the two numbers that are published.
- 1964–1966: Guns built from leftover parts in 1964–1966 ended at 1,970,875. The last entry in the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum is 10 numbers higher, so the two sources conflict here.
Factory records (Cody Firearms Museum)
The original Winchester factory ledgers, now held at the Cody Firearms Museum. They record the day each serial number was stamped, which is usually close to when the gun was finished.
Cited as: NRA Museum-published Polishing Room SNA year-end table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1912sources differ | 1 – 9,266 |
| 1913sources differ | 9,267 – 49,344 |
| 1914sources differ | 49,345 – 110,370 |
| 1915sources differ | 110,371 – 143,142 |
| 1916sources differ | 143,143 – 157,861 |
| 1917sources differ | 157,862 – 191,510 |
| 1918sources differ | 191,511 – 196,269 |
| 1919sources differ | 196,270 – 230,343 |
| 1920sources differ | 230,344 – 281,302 |
| 1921sources differ | 281,303 – 303,678 |
| 1922sources differ | 303,679 – 333,678 |
| 1923sources differ | 333,679 – 379,021 |
| 1924sources differ | 379,022 – 417,326 |
| 1925sources differ | 417,327 – 462,132 |
| 1926sources differ | 462,133 – 498,101 |
| 1927sources differ | 498,102 – 541,109 |
| 1928sources differ | 541,110 – 594,589 |
| 1929sources differ | 594,590 – 637,335 |
| 1930sources differ | 637,336 – 673,015 |
| 1931sources differ | 673,016 – 684,476 |
| 1932sources differ | 684,477 – 698,596 |
| 1933sources differ | 698,597 – 698,662 |
| 1934sources differ | 698,663 – 704,074 |
| 1935sources differ | 704,075 – 723,448 |
| 1936sources differ | 723,449 – 749,429 |
| 1937sources differ | 749,430 – 788,635 |
| 1938sources differ | 788,636 – 813,810 |
| 1939sources differ | 813,811 – 849,225 |
| 1940sources differ | 849,226 – 888,006 |
| 1941 | 888,007 – 903,580 |
| 1942sources differ | 903,581 – 1,002,163 |
| 1943sources differ | 1,002,164 – 1,034,440 |
| 1944sources differ | 1,034,441 – 1,042,155 |
| 1945sources differ | 1,042,156 – 1,060,683 |
| 1946sources differ | 1,060,684 – 1,092,085 |
| 1947sources differ | 1,092,086 – 1,145,110 |
| 1948sources differ | 1,145,111 – 1,218,845 |
| 1949sources differ | 1,218,846 – 1,281,025 |
| 1950sources differ | 1,281,026 – 1,354,540 |
| 1951sources differ | 1,354,541 – 1,418,315 |
| 1952sources differ | 1,418,316 – 1,477,650 |
| 1953sources differ | 1,477,651 – 1,568,660 |
| 1954sources differ | 1,568,661 – 1,635,300 |
| 1955sources differ | 1,635,301 – 1,684,790 |
| 1956sources differ | 1,684,791 – 1,727,280 |
| 1957sources differ | 1,727,281 – 1,784,325 |
| 1958sources differ | 1,784,326 – 1,837,879 |
| 1959sources differ | 1,837,880 – 1,887,319 |
| 1960sources differ | 1,887,320 – 1,917,780 |
| 1961 | 1,917,781 – 1,932,638 |
| 1962 | 1,932,639 – 1,942,598 |
| 1963sources differ | 1,942,599 – 1,968,260 |
| 1964approximate | 1,968,261 – 1,970,885 |
- 1941: This figure is copied from the NRA Museum's published factory table, which ends 1941 at 903,580. The Cody Firearms Museum lists its surviving Model 12 records as 1 to 903,579 and 966,819 to 1,970,885. That is a one-number difference in where the two draw the 1941 line, not a conflict about the year. The figure does not show that the Cody records survive all the way through 903,580 to 966,818.
- 1942: This figure is copied from the NRA Museum's published factory table, which ends 1941 at 903,580. The Cody Firearms Museum lists its surviving Model 12 records as 1 to 903,579 and 966,819 to 1,970,885. That is a one-number difference in where the two draw the 1941 line, not a conflict about the year. The figure does not show that the Cody records survive all the way through 903,580 to 966,818.
- 1944: The gap between the 1943 and 1944 year-end numbers is 7,715 serial numbers stamped. It is not 87 guns, and it is not a count of guns shipped.
- 1964: The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum end at serial 1,970,885 on May 28, 1964. That is 10 numbers higher than where the older published tables end the leftover-parts production, so the two sources conflict here.
Later Y-series
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1972 | Y2,000,100 – Y2,006,396 |
| 1973 | Y2,006,397 – Y2,015,662 |
| 1974 | Y2,015,663 – Y2,022,061 |
| 1975 | Y2,022,062 – Y2,024,478 |
| 1976 | Y2,024,479 – Y2,025,482 |
| 1977 | Y2,025,483 – Y2,025,874 |
| 1978 | Y2,025,875 – Y2,026,156 |
| 1979 | Y2,026,157 – Y2,026,399 |
What to know about Model 12 serial numbers
- The two published sets of numbers do not agree with each other. Do not mix them together.
- The NRA Museum publishes a column taken from the factory records. It gives the date the serial number was stamped, not the date the gun was assembled or shipped.
- The surviving Model 12 factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum cover serial numbers 1 to 903,579 and 966,819 to 1,970,885. The NRA Museum's published factory table ends 1941 at 903,580, one number past the Cody coverage, which is only a difference in where the line is drawn. The 1941 and 1942 values are marked with a dagger. Do not read them as proof that the Cody records cover 903,580 to 966,818.
- The gap between the 1943 and 1944 year-end numbers is 7,715 serial numbers stamped. It is not 87 guns, and it is not a count of guns shipped.
- Regular production ended in 1963. Guns built from leftover parts after that were still being given serial numbers through 1966.
- Y numbers are a separate later series. They are not ordinary serial numbers in the 2,000,100 range. You must include the Y when you look one up.
- The highest serial number is not the number of guns made. Some numbers were skipped, and the Y series did not start over at 1.
- No Model 12 is old enough to be an antique under the pre-1899 antique cutoff.
Related models, and why
Shared serial sequences, successors, and look-alikes — each link says why it is here, straight from the record notes.
Other Winchester pump & slide action
Winchester shotguns that never had a serial number
These have no serial number to look up. Their pages explain why, and how to date one from its features.
Want proof on paper? Order a factory letter
The Cody Firearms Museum holds Winchester’s original records and, for a fee, will search them for your serial number and send you a letter with the recorded dates and details. It is the closest thing to the original factory entry you can own, and it is what auction houses and appraisers accept.
Its records cover these Model 12 serial numbers: 1–903,579; 966,819–1,970,885. A number outside that coverage cannot be lettered.
Order a factory letter from the Cody Firearms Museum →What a factory letter shows, and when one is worth ordering →