Winchester Model 1873 (Model 73) serial numbers by year
“The Gun That Won the West”: the .44-40 lever action that made Winchester’s name, made in rifle, carbine and musket form for nearly fifty years.
- Produced:
- 1873–1919 (production); last guns assembled and sold by 1924
- Action:
- lever-action
What year was your Model 73 made?
Winchester Model 73 value: what it sells for at auction
413 Winchester Model 1873s sold one gun to a lot at Rock Island Auction Company (350) and Morphy Auctions (63) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antiquemade before 1899 | 356 | $1,762 – $4,112 | $2,350 | $1,410 – $8,812 |
| Curio & Relicat least 50 years old at the time of sale | 57 | $1,645 – $5,875 | $2,400 | $1,363 – $12,330 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle | 319 | $1,645 – $3,525 | $2,040 | $1,410 – $7,168 |
| Carbine | 61 | $2,350 – $7,200 | $4,096 | $1,762 – $17,625 |
| Musket | 32 | $2,370 – $5,875 | $3,378 | $2,120 – $9,106 |
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
Lower tang (bottom of receiver, in front of trigger guard).
Why the sources give different years
Nobody kept one official list of which Winchester Model 1873 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, and a list typed up by Winchester's customer-service desk, which mixes real records with estimates. 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 year-end table · CFM/Polishing Room antique cutoff · WACA polishing-room research antique cutoff · Winchester customer-service list (2012)
How accurate are these tables?
A factory letter from the Cody Firearms Museum gives the exact date a serial number was stamped. We collected Model 1873 letters that have been published in auction catalogs and checked each one against the tables on this page. A table is checked only against the letters whose serials it covers, so the counts differ from table to table. A table earns trust when the letters land in the year it gives:
- George Madis's published tables and Winchester's own customer-service list (2012) (they print the same year-end figures): 45 of 58 letters land in the year they assign (54 within a year).
Winchester did not always stamp serial numbers in order, so an occasional one-year miss is normal even for a table built from the original factory books. Consistent misses are not.
Winchester Model 1873 serial numbers by year
The full Model 1873 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 1873 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 year-end table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1873sources differ | 1 – 126 |
| 1874sources differ | 127 – 2,726 |
| 1875sources differ | 2,727 – 11,325 |
| 1876sources differ | 11,326 – 23,151 |
| 1877sources differ | 23,152 – 23,628 |
| 1878sources differ | 23,629 – 27,501 |
| 1879sources differ | 27,502 – 41,525 |
| 1880sources differ | 41,526 – 63,537 |
| 1881sources differ | 63,538 – 81,620 |
| 1882sources differ | 81,621 – 109,507 |
| 1883sources differ | 109,508 – 145,503 |
| 1884sources differ | 145,504 – 175,126 |
| 1885sources differ | 175,127 – 196,221 |
| 1886sources differ | 196,222 – 222,937 |
| 1887sources differ | 222,938 – 225,922 |
| 1888sources differ | 225,923 – 284,529 |
| 1889sources differ | 284,530 – 323,956 |
| 1890sources differ | 323,957 – 363,220 |
| 1891sources differ | 363,221 – 405,026 |
| 1892sources differ | 405,027 – 441,625 |
| 1893sources differ | 441,626 – 466,641 |
| 1894sources differ | 466,642 – 481,826 |
| 1895sources differ | 481,827 – 499,308 |
| 1896sources differ | 499,309 – 507,545 |
| 1897sources differ | 507,546 – 513,421 |
| 1898approximate | 513,422 – 525,922 |
| 1899approximate | 525,923 – 541,328 |
| 1900 | 541,329 – 554,128 |
| 1901 | 554,129 – 557,236 |
| 1902 | 557,237 – 564,557 |
| 1903 | 564,558 – 573,957 |
| 1904 | 573,958 – 588,953 |
| 1905 | 588,954 – 602,557 |
| 1906 | 602,558 – 613,780 |
| 1907–1909 | 613,781 – 630,385 |
| 1910 | 630,386 – 656,101 |
| 1911 | 656,102 – 669,324 |
| 1912 | 669,325 – 678,527 |
| 1913 | 678,528 – 684,419 |
| 1914 | 684,420 – 686,510 |
| 1915 | 686,511 – 688,431 |
| 1916 | 688,432 – 694,020 |
| 1917 | 694,021 – 698,617 |
| 1918 | 698,618 – 700,734 |
| 1919 | 700,735 – 702,042 |
| 1919–1923 | 702,043 – 720,610 |
- 1887: The older published table prints 225,922 for 1887, even though that is a jump of only 2,985 from the year before. The figure is shown here as published, not quietly corrected to 255,922.
- 1898: Published figures for the last serial disagree. The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum give 525,750, George Madis's tables give 525,922, and research into the Cody records by the Winchester collectors' association gives 526,158. If your serial is 525,751 to 526,158, confirm antique status with a factory letter from the Cody Records Office before you rely on it.
- 1899: Where this row starts depends on the disputed 1898 cutoff. The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum give 525,750, George Madis's tables give 525,922, and research into the Cody records by the Winchester collectors' association gives 526,158. If your serial is 525,751 to 526,158, confirm antique status with a factory letter from the Cody Records Office before you rely on it.
- 1907–1909: No last serial is published for 1907 or 1908. This row covers 1907 to 1909, and the published figures cannot narrow it any further.
- 1919: The year-by-year table ends at 702,042 in 1919.
- 1919–1923: The published year-by-year table stops at 702,042 in 1919. Numbers above that run up to 720,610, the last serial supported by the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum. Production largely ended in 1919. The receivers that were left over were assembled and shipped into the early 1920s, and no year-by-year breakdown was published for them.
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: CFM/Polishing Room antique cutoff
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1898sources differ | through 525,750 |
- 1898: Published figures for the last serial disagree. The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum give 525,750, George Madis's tables give 525,922, and research into the Cody records by the Winchester collectors' association gives 526,158. If your serial is 525,751 to 526,158, confirm antique status with a factory letter from the Cody Records Office before you rely on it.
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: WACA polishing-room research antique cutoff
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1898sources differ | through 526,158 |
- 1898: Published figures for the last serial disagree. The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum give 525,750, George Madis's tables give 525,922, and research into the Cody records by the Winchester collectors' association gives 526,158. There are three published figures and no original record that settles the question. If your serial is 525,751 to 526,158, confirm antique status with a factory letter from the Cody Records Office before you rely on it.
Winchester's own customer-service list (2012)
A year-by-year list Winchester's customer-service desk typed up to answer owners' letters. Partly real records and partly estimates, as the list itself says.
Cited as: Winchester customer-service list (2012)
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1873sources differ | 1 – 126 |
| 1874sources differ | 127 – 2,726 |
| 1875sources differ | 2,727 – 11,325 |
| 1876sources differ | 11,326 – 23,151 |
| 1877sources differ | 23,152 – 23,628 |
| 1878sources differ | 23,629 – 27,501 |
| 1879sources differ | 27,502 – 41,525 |
| 1880sources differ | 41,526 – 63,537 |
| 1881sources differ | 63,538 – 81,620 |
| 1882sources differ | 81,621 – 109,507 |
| 1883sources differ | 109,508 – 145,503 |
| 1884sources differ | 145,504 – 175,126 |
| 1885sources differ | 175,127 – 196,221 |
| 1886sources differ | 196,222 – 222,937 |
| 1887sources differ | 222,938 – 225,922 |
| 1888sources differ | 225,923 – 284,529 |
| 1889sources differ | 284,530 – 323,956 |
| 1890sources differ | 323,957 – 363,220 |
| 1891sources differ | 363,221 – 405,026 |
| 1892sources differ | 405,027 – 441,625 |
| 1893sources differ | 441,626 – 466,641 |
| 1894sources differ | 466,642 – 481,826 |
| 1895sources differ | 481,827 – 499,308 |
| 1896sources differ | 499,309 – 507,545 |
| 1897sources differ | 507,546 – 513,421 |
| 1898 | 513,422 – 525,922 |
| 1899 | 525,923 – 541,328 |
| 1900 | 541,329 – 554,128 |
| 1901 | 554,129 – 557,236 |
| 1902 | 557,237 – 564,557 |
| 1903 | 564,558 – 573,957 |
| 1904 | 573,958 – 588,953 |
| 1905 | 588,954 – 602,557 |
| 1906 | 602,558 – 613,780 |
| 1909 | 613,781 – 630,385 |
| 1910 | 630,386 – 656,101 |
| 1911 | 656,102 – 669,324 |
| 1912 | 669,325 – 678,527 |
| 1913 | 678,528 – 684,419 |
| 1914 | 684,420 – 686,510 |
| 1915 | 686,511 – 688,431 |
| 1916 | 688,432 – 694,020 |
| 1917 | 694,021 – 698,617 |
| 1918 | 698,618 – 700,734 |
| 1919 | 700,735 – 702,042 |
| 1919–1923 | 702,043 – 720,610 |
- 1919–1923: The published year-by-year table stops at 702,042 in 1919. Numbers above that run up to 720,610, the last serial supported by the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum. Production largely ended in 1919. The receivers that were left over were assembled and shipped into the early 1920s, and no year-by-year breakdown was published for them.
What to know about Model 1873 serial numbers
- George Madis's tables contain known errors. For an exact date, use the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum or the Winchester collectors' association instead of Madis's tables.
- Manufacture largely ended by 1919. The guns that were left were assembled or shipped into the early 1920s. Do not read the year a gun shipped as the year its serial number was stamped.
- Some Model 1873 numbers are followed by an A or a B. That letter is not part of the serial number when you search the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum.
- Sources disagree about the last serial number of 1898. George Madis's tables give 525,922. The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum give 525,750. Research into those records by the Winchester collectors' association gives 526,158. Every published reading agrees that 525,750 and below were made before 1899, so those numbers clear the pre-1899 antique cutoff. Numbers from 525,751 to 526,158 are disputed. For one of those, get a factory letter from Cody before you call the gun an antique.
- George Madis's tables give a range of 1 to 720,609 and a total of 720,609 rifles. Both figures are disputed. The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum support 720,610 as the last serial number and as the total.
- Modern reproductions are not antiques.
- Winchester's own customer-service list is a retyped compilation, not the original records. The list itself says that no complete original serial record from 1866 onward is known to exist, and that some of its figures are estimates.
Other Winchester lever-action rifles
Winchester rifles 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 Model 1873 serial numbers: 1–720,610. 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 →