Winchester Model 1890 (Model 90) serial numbers by year
Browning’s exposed-hammer slide-action .22, the shooting-gallery rifle of a generation. Standard production ended in 1932, with parts-cleanup assembly continuing to 1949.
- Produced:
- 1890–1932 (standard production); parts clean-up assembly through 1949
- Action:
- pump-action
What year was your Model 90 made?
Where the serial number is
On the lower tang, the flat strip of metal behind the trigger guard. Third Model takedown rifles, from serial 232,329 in 1901 onward, are stamped a second time on the face of the receiver at the takedown joint, where the barrel section separates from it.
Why the sources give different years
Nobody kept one official list of which Winchester Model 1890 serial numbers were made in which year. The dates come from the original factory record books, now held by the Cody Firearms Museum, and the tables in George Madis's Winchester books, compiled decades after the guns were made. 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 starting-serial chronology · Madis antique-cutoff year-end table · CFM/Polishing Room antique-cutoff year-end table
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 1890 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: 29 of 34 letters land in the year it assigns (33 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 1890 serial numbers by year
The full Model 1890 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. 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 starting-serial chronology
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1890sources differ | 1 – 113 |
| 1891sources differ | 114 – 8,620 |
| 1892sources differ | 8,621 – 16,080 |
| 1893sources differ | 16,081 – 19,988 |
| 1894sources differ | 19,989 – 31,019 |
| 1895sources differ | 31,020 – 38,254 |
| 1896sources differ | 38,255 – 44,708 |
| 1897sources differ | 44,709 – 54,905 |
| 1898approximate | 54,906 – 64,520 |
| 1899approximate | 64,521 – 78,803 |
| 1900 | 78,804 – 99,175 |
| 1901 | 99,176 – 124,968 |
| 1902 | 124,969 – 153,250 |
| 1903 | 153,251 – 185,605 |
| 1904 | 185,606 – 222,618 |
| 1905 | 222,619 – 257,614 |
| 1906 | 257,615 – 295,123 |
| 1907 | 295,124 – 336,832 |
| 1908 | 336,833 – 370,683 |
| 1909 | 370,684 – 400,261 |
| 1910 | 400,262 – 430,402 |
| 1911 | 430,403 – 458,099 |
| 1912 | 458,100 – 485,431 |
| 1913 | 485,432 – 513,773 |
| 1914 | 513,774 – 537,857 |
| 1915 | 537,858 – 558,129 |
| 1916 | 558,130 – 577,337 |
| 1917 | 577,338 – 596,045 |
| 1918 | 596,046 – 610,280 |
| 1919 | 610,281 – 637,644 |
| 1920 | 637,645 – 644,777 |
| 1921 | 644,778 – 648,760 |
| 1922 | 648,761 – 657,282 |
| 1923 | 657,283 – 668,816 |
| 1924 | 668,817 – 678,693 |
| 1925 | 678,694 – 689,855 |
| 1926 | 689,856 – 701,131 |
| 1927 | 701,132 – 713,070 |
| 1928 | 713,071 – 725,438 |
| 1929 | 725,439 – 736,210 |
| 1930 | 736,211 – 743,101 |
| 1931 | 743,102 – 747,265 |
| 1932 | 747,266 – 747,962 |
| 1933 | 747,963 – 748,951 |
| 1934 | 748,952 – 750,060 |
| 1935 | 750,061 – 751,088 |
| 1936 | 751,089 – 751,952 |
| 1937 | 751,953 – 751,995 |
| 1938 | 751,996 – 752,007 |
| 1939 | 752,008 – 752,025 |
| 1940 | 752,026 – 752,043 |
| 1941 | 752,044 |
- 1898: For the pre-1899 antique cutoff, George Madis's tables start 1899 at 64,521, which makes 64,520 the last number of 1898 under Madis. The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum give 64,748 instead, 228 serials higher.
- 1899: This is George Madis's start-of-year number, and the cutoff in the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum differs. Madis's tables start 1899 at 64,521, which makes 64,520 the last number of 1898 under Madis. The Cody records give 64,748 instead, 228 serials higher.
- 1926–1940: George Madis's tables are not reliable after the merger of March 10, 1926. For a date after that, use the individual factory record for your gun.
- 1941: 752,044 is the last number in the older published table. George Madis's tables are not reliable after the merger of March 10, 1926. For a date after that, use the individual factory record for your gun.
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 antique-cutoff year-end table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1898sources differ | through 64,520 |
- 1898: For the pre-1899 antique cutoff, George Madis's tables start 1899 at 64,521, which makes 64,520 the last number of 1898 under Madis. The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum give 64,748 instead, 228 serials higher.
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-end table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1898sources differ | through 64,748 |
- 1898: For the pre-1899 antique cutoff, George Madis's tables start 1899 at 64,521, which makes 64,520 the last number of 1898 under Madis. The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum give 64,748 instead, 228 serials higher.
What to know about Model 1890 serial numbers
- George Madis's tables are not reliable after the merger of March 10, 1926. For a date after that, use the individual factory record for your gun.
- From serial 713,200 the Model 90 and the Model 06 shared one running sequence, through 846,022 on June 6, 1932. A number missing from one model was used by the other. It was not picked at random and it was not skipped.
- How production ended, from the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum as read by the Winchester collectors' association: regular production stopped on June 6, 1932 at serial 846,022. From February 1933 Winchester assembled rifles now and then from leftover parts, in the shared Model 90 and Model 06 range 846,023 to 854,747, until July 20, 1942. Nothing was built between then and November 23, 1949, when the last two rifles, 854,746 and 854,747, were put together. George Madis's tables end at 752,044 in 1941, far below the numbers the factory actually reached after the two models were merged in 1926, so a serial number above 752,044 cannot be dated from Madis at all and needs the individual factory record.
- The block 20,000 to 29,999 was never used, and later numbers were skipped. The highest serial is therefore not the production total.
- After the Model 1906 came out, an A below the serial number marked a Model 1890 receiver and a B marked a Model 1906 receiver. The Cody Firearms Museum says these nearby letters are not part of the number you search on.
- For the pre-1899 antique cutoff, George Madis's tables start 1899 at 64,521, which makes 64,520 the last number of 1898 under Madis. The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum give 64,748 instead, 228 serials higher.
- The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum reach at least 854,747, but the numbers they hold are thin and do not run in order.
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 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 these Model 1890 serial numbers: 1–19,999; 30,000–854,747. 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 →