GunSerialsWinchester Model 1893 serial numbers by year
The Winchester Model 1893 was an exposed-hammer pump-action shotgun designed by John Browning, produced from 1893 to 1897.
- Produced:
- 1893–1897
- 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 1893 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 1893 value: what it sells for at auction
We found 10 single-gun auction sales of the Winchester Model 1893 at Rock Island Auction Company, Morphy Auctions, Poulin Auctions, and Redding Auction Services between Sep 2023 and Sep 2026. They sold for $554 to $15,275, 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 1893 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2026 | Antique · Model 1893 | Poulin lot 2024 | $976 |
| Apr 2026 | Antique · Model 1893 | Poulin lot 2023 | $915 |
| Apr 2026 | Antique · Model 1893 | Poulin lot 2022 | $1,037 |
| Dec 2025 | Antique · Model 1893 · 12 | Rock Island lot 3039 | $3,231 |
| May 2025 | Antique · Model 1893 · 12 | Redding lot 361 | $1,150 |
| Dec 2024 | Antique · Model 1893 · Trench / riot · 12 | Rock Island lot 3524 | $2,350 |
| Dec 2024 | Antique · Model 1893 · 12 | Rock Island lot 3504 | $15,275 |
| May 2024 | Antique · Model 1893 · Trench / riot · 12 | Rock Island lot 3605 | $17,625 |
| Feb 2024 | Curio & Relic · Model 1893 · 25-20 WCF | Rock Island lot 2238 | $999 |
| Oct 2023 | Antique · Model 1893 | Morphy lot 1102 | $554 |
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
Bottom of the receiver (underside), as on the successor Model 1897.
Where these dates come from
The table on this page comes from one source: George Madis's published tables. Use its dates as estimates for groups of serial numbers, and check the notes for its limits.
Sources for this model: Madis published table · Factory-lettered examples (published auction catalogs) · Hartman ledger audit
Winchester Model 1893 serial numbers by year
The full Model 1893 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.
George Madis's published tables
George Madis compiled Winchester reference books years after production. His tables estimate the last serial number reached each year.
Cited as: Madis published table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1893–1897 | 1 – 34,203 |
- 1893–1897: George Madis's tables give no year-by-year breakdown for the Model 1893. The sequence ran from 1893 until the last Model 1893s were numbered in 1897, and the Model 1897 carried it on. The first Model 1897s appear around 31,609 to 34,151. The published table mixes Model 1897 production into the same sequence.
Dated examples from auction catalogs
Individual guns whose factory letters were published in auction catalogs. Real dates, but only for those serial numbers.
Cited as: Factory-lettered examples (published auction catalogs)
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1897 | 34,345 |
- 1897: Model 1893 serial 34,345 has a factory letter and shipped on June 18, 1897.
Hartman ledger audit
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1897 | 35,402 |
- 1897: One reading of one ledger, from a single source, gives 35,402, dated July 22, 1897, as the last recorded Model 1893.
What to know about Model 1893 serial numbers
- Model 1893 serial numbers run higher than the production totals.
- George Madis's tables openly mix Model 1897 production into the same sequence.
- Model 1897 numbering began around 31,609, before the last Model 1893s were numbered. The two models overlap in the records for 1897 to 1899. Inside that overlap a serial number alone cannot tell you which model you have.
- The Winchester collectors' association puts the first Model 1897 in the shared sequence at approximately 34,151. The older published tables read the changeover at approximately 31,609. The two figures come from different record systems, so do not treat them as the same final serial.
- The shared range in the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum covers the whole family of guns, not Model 1893 production alone.
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.
Need more detail? Check for factory records
The Cody Firearms Records Office can check for surviving records for your serial number. For a fee, it can issue a letter reporting what they say. Some records contain only dates; others also describe the gun’s original features.
The office’s May 2024 coverage sheet lists these Model 1893 serial numbers: 1–1,024,701 (shared with the Model 1897). Check current availability with the office before ordering; a listed range does not guarantee a record for every number.
Order a factory letter from the Cody Firearms Museum →What a factory letter shows, and when one is worth ordering →