Winchester Model 1901 serial numbers by year
The Winchester Model 1901 is a lever-action shotgun produced from 1899 to 1931, offered exclusively in 10 gauge to handle smokeless powder loads.
- Produced:
- 1899–1931
- Action:
- lever-action
What year was your Model 1901 made?
Where the serial number is
Bottom of the receiver, forward of the lever (as on the Model 1887).
Where these dates come from
Winchester's original factory records do not cover every model. For the Model 1901, the dates come from one published source, Factory records (Cody Firearms Museum). It was typed up long after production, so treat any year as a close estimate rather than a factory record.
Sources for this model: CFM/Polishing Room serial span · Winchester customer-service list (2012)
Winchester Model 1901 serial numbers by year
The full Model 1901 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.
The tables agree with each other for every serial range.
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 serial span
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1899–1931 | 64,856 – 78,356 |
- 1899–1931: Production began on June 29, 1899 and ended on November 5, 1931. The serial numbers carried on from the Model 1887 sequence.
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 |
|---|---|
| 1904 | 64,856 – 64,860 |
| 1905 | 64,861 – 66,453 |
| 1906 | 66,454 – 67,486 |
| 1907 | 67,487 – 68,424 |
| 1908 | 68,425 – 69,197 |
| 1909 | 69,198 – 70,009 |
| 1910 | 70,010 – 70,753 |
| 1911 | 70,754 – 71,441 |
| 1912 | 71,442 – 72,167 |
| 1913 | 72,168 – 72,764 |
| 1914 | 72,765 – 73,202 |
| 1915 | 73,203 – 73,509 |
| 1916 | 73,510 – 73,770 |
| 1917 | 73,771 – 74,027 |
| 1918 | 74,028 – 74,311 |
| 1919 | 74,312 – 74,872 |
| 1920 | 74,873 – 77,000 |
What to know about Model 1901 serial numbers
- The Model 1901 carried on the Model 1887 serial sequence after 64,855. The name does not mean production began in 1901.
- Lower numbers belong to the earlier Model 1887 sequence.
- No Model 1901 dates from before 1899. Production began after January 1, 1899.
- No reliable year-by-year table was found in the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum. Do not even out or extend the table by George Madis and OldGuns, because its entries conflict with the last serial number in the surviving records of when serial numbers were stamped.
- George Madis's tables begin at 64,856, but the published yearly table runs on past 78,356, and its starting numbers and counts do not agree with each other. Do not use it in place of the last serial number in the surviving records of when serial numbers were stamped.
- 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.
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 shotguns
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 Model 1901 serial numbers: 1–78,356 (shared with the Model 1887). 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 →