GunSerialsWinchester Model 1903 serial numbers by year
Winchester's first semi-automatic rifle, designed by T. C. Johnson for .22 Winchester Automatic ammunition. Serial numbering continued through 1932, with assembly from leftover parts reported until 1936.
- Produced:
- 1903–1932 (parts cleanup to 1936)
- Action:
- semi-automatic
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 1903 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 auction price range.
Winchester Model 1903 value: what it sells for at auction
Enter your serial number above to highlight the price categories that fit the estimated date and see recent sales of this model in those categories.
These prices come from 41 Winchester Model 1903s sold individually at Rock Island Auction Company (9), Morphy Auctions (5), Poulin Auctions (5), Amoskeag Auction Company (10), and Redding Auction Services (12) between Sep 2021 and Sep 2026. There were too few sales of this model in the last three years, so these figures cover 5 years. The age-group rows use the auction companies' categories: antique, curio and relic, or modern.
The typical price is the middle price, also called the median. Half sold for more and half for less. The middle 50% range leaves out the lowest quarter and highest quarter of prices. The wider 80% range leaves out the lowest tenth and highest tenth.
We leave out listings described as deluxe, special-order, engraved, restored, or commemorative, and other exceptions in the value guide. Commemoratives are priced on their own page. Wear, repairs, original parts, and factory upgrades can make a particular gun worth more or less. These figures are a comparison, not an appraisal of your gun.
| Category | Sales | Middle 50% of prices | Typical price | Middle 80% of prices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curio & Reliccollector category, usually 50+ years old | 40 | $274 – $682 | $430 | $242 – $2,273 |
Recent Model 1903 auction sales
Sales near the typical price and the newest. Their features and condition may differ from your gun. A lot number identifies an item in an auction.
| Sold | Gun | Auction company | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | Model 1903 | Morphy lot 1524 | $430 |
| Mar 2025 | Model 1903 | Morphy lot 1523 | $430 |
| May 2026 | Model 1903 | Poulin lot 3144 | $427 |
| Aug 2026 | Model 1903 | Amoskeag lot 2708 | $423 |
| Aug 2026 | Model 1903 | Amoskeag lot 2300 | $242 |
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
Underside of the receiver, forward of the trigger guard.
Why the sources give different years
The dates for the Winchester Model 1903 come from factory record books held at the Cody Firearms Museum, George Madis's reference books, Winchester's customer-service list, and other published references, each named above its table. These sources can give different years for the same serial number. Original records usually provide stronger evidence than later estimates. Check the notes to see whether a source dates numbering, assembly, or another step.
Madis vs. factory dates shows examples from models whose tables disagree on this site.
Sources for this model: CFM/Polishing Room SNA coverage · Dated serial observations (published auction catalogs) · Madis/ProofHouse approximate serial milestones · Winchester customer-service chart year-end anchors · Winchester customer-service list (2012)
Winchester Model 1903 serial numbers by year
The full Model 1903 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.
A row marked “sources differ” is a serial range that another table on this page dates to a different year. A row marked “approximate” is a figure we trust less than the rest of its table: a boundary the sources put a few serials apart, or a figure a later record corrects.
Factory records (Cody Firearms Museum)
Drawn from Winchester's original factory records. Numbering records date when serial numbers were stamped. The gun could be finished or shipped later; see this model's notes.
Cited as: CFM/Polishing Room SNA coverage
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1903–1932 | 1 – 126,211 |
- 1903–1932: The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum cover serials 1 to 126,211. The Winchester collectors' association identifies 126,211 as the last serial in those records, stamped in September 1932.
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: Dated serial observations (published auction catalogs)
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1903 | 6,291 |
| 1910sources differ | 60,645 |
| 1911 | 60,740 |
- 1903: Auction catalogs place serial 6,291 in the first year of production. The evidence supports first-year numbers reaching at least 6,291.
- 1910: This is an observed serial. Auction catalogs date serial 60,645 to 1910.
- 1911: Auction catalogs date serial 60,740 to 1911.
Madis's tables (Proofhouse / oldguns.net reprint)
George Madis compiled Winchester reference books years after production. His tables estimate the last serial number reached each year.
Cited as: Madis/ProofHouse approximate serial milestones
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1903sources differ | 8,214 |
| 1910sources differ | 62,294 |
- 1903: George Madis's table gives about 8,211 rifles, starting at serial 3. The next year's first number puts this range's last number at 8,214. The printed count is one less than the number of serials in that range.
- 1910: George Madis's table gives about 7,802 rifles, starting at serial 54,492. The next year's first number puts this range's last number at 62,294. The printed count is one less than the number of serials in that range. Winchester's own list gives a different last number for the year.
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 customer-service chart year-end anchors
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1903–1910approximate | through 54,298 |
| 1911–1932approximate | 54,299 – 112,992 |
| 1933–1936sources differ | 112,993 – 114,962 |
- 1903–1910: Sources disagree on the last serial number of this year. Auction catalogs date serial 60,645 to 1910, and the table from George Madis and ProofHouse gives about 62,294.
- 1911–1932: Winchester's chart ends regular production at 112,992 in 1932. That conflicts with the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum, which run to 126,211.
- 1933–1936: This is the last serial for the leftover parts assembled after regular production ended. That later timeline conflicts with the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum, where serial numbers stop being stamped in September 1932. The clean-up guns used parts that had already been numbered.
Winchester's own customer-service list (2012)
A list Winchester prepared to answer owners' questions. It combines records and estimates, as the list itself explains.
Cited as: Winchester customer-service list (2012)
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1903–1904 | through 6,944 |
| 1905 | 6,945 – 14,865 |
| 1906 | 14,866 – 23,097 |
| 1907 | 23,098 – 31,852 |
| 1908 | 31,853 – 39,105 |
| 1909 | 39,106 – 46,496 |
| 1910 | 46,497 – 54,298 |
| 1911 | 54,299 – 61,679 |
| 1912 | 61,680 – 69,586 |
| 1913 | 69,587 – 76,732 |
| 1914 | 76,733 – 81,776 |
| 1915 | 81,777 – 84,563 |
| 1916 | 84,564 – 87,148 |
| 1917 | 87,149 – 89,501 |
| 1918 | 89,502 – 92,617 |
| 1919 | 92,618 – 96,565 |
| 1920–1921 | 96,566 – 97,650 |
| 1922 | 97,651 – 99,011 |
| 1923 | 99,012 – 100,452 |
| 1924 | 100,453 – 101,688 |
| 1925 | 101,689 – 103,075 |
| 1926 | 103,076 – 104,230 |
| 1927 | 104,231 – 105,537 |
| 1928 | 105,538 – 107,157 |
| 1929 | 107,158 – 109,414 |
| 1930 | 109,415 – 111,276 |
| 1931 | 111,277 – 112,533 |
| 1932 | 112,534 – 112,992 |
- 1903–1904: Winchester's own customer-service list records no last serial for 1903. This row runs from there up to the next year the list does record.
- 1920–1921: Winchester's own customer-service list records no last serial for 1920. This row runs from there up to the next year the list does record.
What to know about Model 1903 serial numbers
- An A after the serial number marks a mechanical change to the receiver group. It does not mean the gun was repaired at the factory, and it is not an extra digit of the serial number.
- The sources disagree on where the serial numbers end. The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum run to 126,211, the last number stamped, in September 1932, as read by the Winchester collectors' association. Numbers were skipped along the way, so George Madis's tables count 123,094 rifles actually made. Winchester's own customer-service list instead ends 1932 at 112,992 and says about 2,000 more guns were built from leftover parts, with production stopping at serial 114,962 in 1936. The factory record is the original. Winchester's list is a retyped compilation that says some of its figures are estimates. If your serial number is between 112,993 and 126,211, the factory record says it was stamped by September 1932. Winchester's list would place it in the 1933 to 1936 leftover-parts run, or above 114,962 not at all.
- Some guns were assembled or shipped later from parts that had already been numbered. Do not read that as the receiver being made later.
- The clean-up guns, meaning leftover parts assembled after regular production ended, used parts that had already been numbered.
- No year-by-year table from the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum has been published for the Model 1903.
- 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.
Winchester rifles 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 1903 serial numbers: 1–126,211. 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 →