Winchester Model 42 serial numbers by year
A Model 12 scaled down for the .410 bore alone, and the only Winchester ever built exclusively for that shell. Miroku reproduced it in 1991–1993.
- Produced:
- 1933–1963 (1964 cleanup serialization); 1991–1993 Miroku reproductions
- Action:
- pump-action
What year was your Model 42 made?
Winchester Model 42 value: what it sells for at auction
102 Winchester Model 42s sold one gun to a lot at Rock Island Auction Company (70) and Morphy Auctions (32) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curio & Relicat least 50 years old at the time of sale | 102 | $1,536 – $2,582 | $1,880 | $1,292 – $4,662 |
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
Bottom of the receiver ahead of the loading port, with the matching number on the receiver extension.
Why the sources give different years
Nobody kept one official list of which Winchester Model 42 serial numbers were made in which year. The dates come from 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 year-end table · Winchester customer-service year-end table · Madis explicit milestone ranges · Published Madis year-start table · Winchester customer-service list (2012)
Winchester Model 42 serial numbers by year
The full Model 42 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 year-end table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1933 | 1 – 9,398 |
| 1934approximate | 9,399 – 13,963 |
| 1939sources differ | 13,964 – 38,972 |
| 1941sources differ | 38,973 – 48,210 |
- 1933: This was the first year of production.
- 1934: This boundary does not match the next starting serial in the published table of George Madis.
- 1939: George Madis's tables and Winchester's own customer-service list differ by five serials in 1939. The published Madis table also implies a different boundary.
- 1941: This is the end of the pre-war era. Limited production continued during the war. George Madis's tables and Winchester's own customer-service list differ by seven serials in 1941. The published Madis table also implies a different boundary.
Winchester's own customer-service list
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 year-end table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1933 | 1 – 9,398 |
| 1934 | 9,399 – 13,963 |
| 1939sources differ | 13,964 – 38,967 |
| 1941sources differ | 38,968 – 48,203 |
- 1933: This was the first year of production.
- 1939: This is 5 lower than the last serial number of the year in George Madis's tables. The two sources differ by five serials in 1939.
- 1941: This is 7 lower than the last serial number of the year in George Madis's tables. The two sources differ by seven serials in 1941. This is the end of the pre-war era. Limited production continued during the war.
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 explicit milestone ranges
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1946 | 51,169 – 54,256 |
| 1954 | 108,202 – 117,200 |
| 1963 | 154,665 – 159,353 |
| 1964 | 159,354 – 160,013 |
- 1946: Production increased after the wartime low.
- 1963: This is the last year of regular production. The published range is an estimate because the yearly records were lost.
- 1964: These are leftover parts assembled after regular production ended in 1964. George Madis's tables record 659 of these guns.
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: Published Madis year-start table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1933 | 1 – 9,398 |
| 1934approximate | 9,399 – 13,964 |
| 1935sources differ | 13,965 – 17,730 |
| 1936sources differ | 17,731 – 24,852 |
| 1937sources differ | 24,853 – 30,904 |
| 1938sources differ | 30,905 – 34,664 |
| 1939approximate | 34,665 – 38,973 |
| 1940sources differ | 38,974 – 43,355 |
| 1941approximate | 43,356 – 48,211 |
| 1942 | 48,212 – 50,827 |
| 1943sources differ | 50,828 – 50,831 |
| 1944sources differ | 50,832 – 50,838 |
| 1945 | 50,839 – 51,168 |
| 1946 | 51,169 – 54,256 |
| 1947 | 54,257 – 64,853 |
| 1948 | 64,854 – 75,142 |
| 1949 | 75,143 – 81,107 |
| 1950sources differ | 81,108 – 87,071 |
| 1951 | 87,072 – 93,038 |
| 1952 | 93,039 – 99,000 |
| 1953 | 99,001 – 108,201 |
| 1954 | 108,202 – 117,200 |
| 1955 | 117,201 – 121,883 |
| 1956 | 121,884 – 126,566 |
| 1957 | 126,567 – 131,249 |
| 1958 | 131,250 – 135,932 |
| 1959 | 135,933 – 140,615 |
| 1960 | 140,616 – 145,298 |
| 1961 | 145,299 – 149,981 |
| 1962 | 149,982 – 154,664 |
| 1963 | 154,665 – 159,353 |
| 1964 | 159,354 – 160,013 |
- 1934: This boundary does not match the last serial number of 1934 in George Madis's tables.
- 1939: This boundary does not match the last serial number of 1939 in George Madis's tables. Winchester's own customer-service list is 5 lower than that number.
- 1941: This boundary does not match the last serial number of 1941 in George Madis's tables. Winchester's own customer-service list is 7 lower than that number.
- 1955–1963: This year was averaged out from the source. The records for 1955 to 1963 were lost, so this entry is an estimate, not a real yearly record.
- 1964: These are leftover parts assembled after regular production ended in 1964. The final serial closes this range. George Madis's tables record 659 of these guns.
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 |
|---|---|
| 1933 | through 9,398 |
| 1934 | 9,399 – 13,963 |
| 1935sources differ | 13,964 – 17,728 |
| 1936sources differ | 17,729 – 24,849 |
| 1937sources differ | 24,850 – 30,900 |
| 1938sources differ | 30,901 – 34,659 |
| 1939 | 34,660 – 38,967 |
| 1940sources differ | 38,968 – 43,348 |
| 1941 | 43,349 – 48,203 |
| 1942 | 48,204 – 50,818 |
| 1943sources differ | 50,819 – 50,822 |
| 1944sources differ | 50,823 – 50,828 |
| 1945 | 50,829 – 51,168 |
| 1946 | 51,169 – 54,256 |
| 1947 | 54,257 – 64,853 |
| 1948 | 64,854 – 75,142 |
| 1949 | 75,143 – 81,107 |
| 1951sources differ | 81,108 – 93,038 |
| 1952 | 93,039 – 99,000 |
| 1953 | 99,001 – 108,201 |
| 1954 | 108,202 – 117,200 |
| 1955 | 117,201 – 121,883 |
| 1956 | 121,884 – 126,566 |
| 1957 | 126,567 – 131,249 |
| 1958 | 131,250 – 135,932 |
| 1959 | 135,933 – 140,615 |
| 1960 | 140,616 – 145,298 |
| 1961 | 145,299 – 149,981 |
| 1962 | 149,982 – 154,664 |
| 1963 | 154,665 – 159,353 |
- 1951: The source prints 2 rows labeled 1951 (87,071 and 93,038) and no row for 1950. It is shown here as printed.
What to know about Model 42 serial numbers
- George Madis's tables state that the records for 1955 to 1963 were lost. The entries for those years were averaged out from the source. They are estimates, not real yearly records.
- Later Model 42 reproductions made in Japan by Miroku use serial numbers with letters in them. They are not part of the original New Haven sequence of 1 to 160,013.
- George Madis's tables run the sequence out to 160,013 for the leftover parts assembled after regular production ended.
- A date from the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum is the date the serial number was stamped on a part. It is not necessarily the date the gun was finished, received in the warehouse, or shipped.
- The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum cover only serials 50,923 to 52,683 for this model, and only as the date the serial number was stamped. That is a narrow exception, not full coverage.
- The figure of about 164,800 that turns up in auction listings is an estimate of total production. It is not a starting serial for 1963.
- 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 pump & slide action
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 42 serial numbers: 50,923–52,683. 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 →