GunSerialsWinchester Model 1200 serial numbers by year
A pump shotgun listed in Winchester catalogs from 1964 through at least 1984. Some security versions are reported to have continued later.
- Produced:
- 1964–1984
- Action:
- pump-action
New to gun terms? Start here
- Model:
- The name of the gun design, such as Model 94. A model name that looks like a year does not tell you when your gun was made.
- Serial number:
- The number stamped on an individual gun. Include letters that are part of the number. A separate letter stamped above it, like the Model 97's C, D or E, is a different marking.
- Receiver:
- The main metal body just behind the barrel. The receiver ring is its front section, where the barrel joins it.
- Tang:
- A strip of metal extending from the receiver into the stock. The lower tang runs underneath, behind the trigger.
- Stock:
- The part you hold against your shoulder, usually made of wood on older Winchesters.
- Forearm or forend:
- The part under the barrel where your forward hand holds the gun.
- Action:
- The mechanism that loads and removes cartridges. Names such as lever action, pump action, and bolt action describe how it works.
- Caliber or gauge:
- The ammunition size or type a gun is designed to use. This marking is different from the model and serial number.
- Takedown:
- A version designed to separate into major sections for storage. A takedown joint is where those sections meet.
- Proof mark:
- A factory testing mark, such as Winchester's oval WP stamp. It is not a serial number or a date code.
- Peep or aperture sight:
- A rear sight with a small hole to look through. A hooded front sight has a cover around it.
What year was your Model 1200 made?
Need help finding the serial number?
Look up a serial number and print a one-page record sheet: the date and its sources, the status by age, the model in brief, and the low and high of recent auction sales.
Winchester Model 1200 value: what it sells for at auction
We found 23 single-gun auction sales of the Winchester Model 1200 at Rock Island Auction Company, Morphy Auctions, Poulin Auctions, and Amoskeag Auction Company between Sep 2023 and Sep 2026. They sold for $181 to $861, not counting the trench and riot guns among them.
That is too few sales for a typical price, so we list each one instead. A price table needs at least 40 sales. With only a few sales, one gun in unusual condition can set the high or the low.
We leave out listings described as deluxe, special-order, engraved, restored, or commemorative, and other exceptions in the value guide. Wear, repairs, original parts, and factory upgrades can make a particular gun worth more or less. These sales are a comparison, not an appraisal of your gun.
Every Model 1200 sale we counted
Newest first. Each row names the auction company's age group for the gun. Their features and condition may differ from your gun. A lot number identifies an item in an auction.
| Sold | Gun | Auction company | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | Modern · Model 1200 | Amoskeag lot 2343 | $242 |
| Aug 2026 | Modern · Model 1200 | Amoskeag lot 2051 | $254 |
| Aug 2026 | Modern · Model 1200 | Amoskeag lot 2040 | $205 |
| Jun 2026 | Modern · Model 1200 | Amoskeag lot 2277 | $278 |
| Nov 2025 | Modern · Model 1200 | Amoskeag lot 2151 | $338 |
| Nov 2025 | Modern · Model 1200 | Amoskeag lot 2129 | $193 |
| Nov 2025 | Modern · Model 1200 · Trench / riot | Morphy lot 1661 | $738 |
| Jun 2025 | Curio & Relic · Model 1200 | Amoskeag lot 2074 | $181 |
| May 2025 | Curio & Relic · Model 1200 · Trench / riot · 12 | Rock Island lot 3398 | $5,581 |
| Apr 2025 | Modern · Model 1200 | Poulin lot 2138 | $242 |
| Mar 2025 | Modern · Model 1200 | Amoskeag lot 2523 | $254 |
| Mar 2025 | Modern · Model 1200 | Morphy lot 1578 | $861 |
| Dec 2024 | Curio & Relic · Model 1200 · Trench / riot · 12 | Rock Island lot 3339 | $11,750 |
| Dec 2024 | Modern · Model 1200 | Poulin lot 2413 | $272 |
| Aug 2024 | Curio & Relic · Model 1200 · Trench / riot · 12 | Rock Island lot 3353 | $8,812 |
| May 2024 | Curio & Relic · Model 1200 · Trench / riot · 12 | Rock Island lot 391 | $10,575 |
| May 2024 | Curio & Relic · Model 1200 · Trench / riot · 12 | Rock Island lot 1359 | $11,750 |
| Mar 2024 | Curio & Relic · Model 1200 | Amoskeag lot 2786 | $254 |
| Mar 2024 | Curio & Relic · Model 1200 | Amoskeag lot 2366 | $242 |
| Feb 2024 | Modern · Model 1200 | Poulin lot 2309 | $242 |
| Dec 2023 | Curio & Relic · Model 1200 · Trench / riot · 12 | Rock Island lot 449 | $21,150 |
| Nov 2023 | Modern · Model 1200 | Amoskeag lot 2837 | $242 |
| Nov 2023 | Modern · Model 1200 | Amoskeag lot 2379 | $302 |
Prices are in US dollars and include the buyer’s premium, the auction company’s fee added to the winning bid, where the house charges one; Redding charges none. They are not the amount the seller receives. A dealer’s offer or private sale price may differ. The full picture, model by model →
Where the serial number is
Left side of the receiver, above the trigger guard.
Where these dates come from
The table on this page comes from one source: Winchester's own customer-service list. Use its dates as estimates for groups of serial numbers, and check the notes for its limits.
Sources for this model: Winchester factory/customer-service range · Published shared-family year-end table
Winchester Model 1200 serial numbers by year
The full Model 1200 serial number chart, one table for each source available here. Each row gives the numbers that source assigns to a year. Both the first and last numbers are included.
The tables agree with each other for every serial range. A row marked “estimate” is a figure its own source calls an estimate.
Winchester's own customer-service list
A list Winchester prepared to answer owners' questions. It combines records and estimates, as the list itself explains.
Cited as: Winchester factory/customer-service range
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1964–1968estimate | 100,000 – 739,617 |
- 1964–1968: Numbers with no letter begin at 100,000 and date from 1964 to 1968. The L was added after November 1968 within the same run of numbers. L numbers through 739,617 date from 1969 to 1972. The records for 1964 to 1971 are missing. Dates for those years are estimates made by spreading the numbers evenly across the years.
Published shared-family year-end table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1969–1972 | L100,000 – L739,617 |
| 1973 | L739,618 – L828,677 |
| 1974 | L828,678 – L898,065 |
| 1975 | L898,066 – L967,242 |
| 1976 | L967,243 – L1,063,788 |
| 1977 | L1,063,789 – L1,163,671 |
| 1978 | L1,163,672 – L1,202,123 |
| 1979 | L1,202,124 – L1,235,083 |
| 1980 | L1,235,084 – L1,269,765 |
| 1981 | L1,269,766 – L1,320,354 |
| 1982 | L1,320,355 – L1,434,776 |
| 1983 | L1,434,777 – L1,567,997 |
| 1984 | L1,567,998 – L1,755,346 |
| 1985 | L1,755,347 – L1,894,542 |
| 1986 | L1,894,543 – L1,983,657 |
| 1987 | L1,983,658 – L2,075,117 |
| 1988 | L2,075,118 – L2,178,816 |
| 1989 | L2,178,817 – L2,306,558 |
| 1990 | L2,306,559 – L2,386,211 |
| 1991 | L2,386,212 – L2,498,813 |
| 1992 | L2,498,814 – L2,599,825 |
- 1969–1972: The L continued the same run of numbers, which began at 100,000. The first published last number is L739,617 for 1972. This row covers 1969 to 1972, after the L was added following November 1968. The table covers Models 120, 1200 and 1300. The number alone does not tell you which model you have.
- 1985–1992: Shared Model 120/1200/1300 numbers after 1984, the last year the Model 1200 was cataloged. The number dates; which model carried it is not recorded.
What to know about Model 1200 serial numbers
- Watch the prefix. Numbers with no letter begin at 100,000. Winchester added the L prefix around the time of the 1968 Gun Control Act. One source states that the L prefix was added after November 1968. The family table from 1972 onward uses L-prefixed numbers.
- No reliable year-by-year table is known for 1964 to 1971. Any date in that span was worked out by spreading the numbers evenly across the years, so it is an estimate, not factory data.
- The published table is headed Model 120/1200/1300 and covers one shared run of numbers. It does not tell you which of those models a particular serial number went on.
- Do not subtract one serial number from another to work out how many were made. The run of numbers is shared by the Models 120, 1200 and 1300.
Related models, and why
These models share a number sequence, replaced this model, or look similar. Each link explains the connection.
Winchester shotguns usually made without serial numbers
These models usually have no serial number. Their pages explain the exceptions and how their features may help estimate age.
Factory record coverage for the Model 1200
The Model 1200 is not on the Cody Firearms Records Office’s May 2024 coverage sheet. Ask the office about current availability. The notes and sources on this page explain the other dating information we have.
Which Winchester models can be lettered, and what a letter shows →