Winchester Model 55 serial numbers by year
The Winchester Model 55 is a lever-action rifle produced from 1924 to 1932, with approximately 20,580 manufactured.
- Produced:
- 1924–1932 (parts cleanup to 1935)
- Action:
- lever-action
What year was your Model 55 made?
Where the serial number is
Underside of the front of the receiver, as on the Model 1894.
Why the sources give different years
Nobody kept one official list of which Winchester Model 55 serial numbers were made in which year. The dates come from the original factory record books, now held by the Cody Firearms Museum, 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: CFM/Polishing Room independent Model 55 series · Published Madis/Proofhouse accounting · Winchester customer-service list (2012)
Winchester Model 55 serial numbers by year
The full Model 55 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.
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 independent Model 55 series
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1924–1928 | 1 – 12,002 |
- 1924–1928: Production began at serial 1 in June 1924. The Model 55's own numbering ran through March 1928. After that, Model 55 rifles were numbered in the shared Model 94 sequence.
Madis's tables (Proofhouse / oldguns.net reprint)
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/Proofhouse accounting
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1924approximate | 1 – 836 |
| 1925approximate | 837 – 2,784 |
| 1926approximate | 2,785 – 4,959 |
| 1927approximate | 4,960 – 8,024 |
| 1928approximate | 8,025 – 10,471 |
| 1929sources differ | 10,472 – 12,263 |
| 1930approximate | 12,264 – 13,799 |
| 1931sources differ | 13,800 – 18,205 |
| 1932approximate | 18,206 – 19,212 |
| 1933approximate | 19,213 – 19,403 |
| 1934sources differ | 19,404 – 19,643 |
| 1935sources differ | 19,644 – 20,549 |
| 1936sources differ | 20,550 – 20,592 |
- 1924–1928: This is a count of rifles made, not a literal list of serial numbers, after the 1928 change to Model 94 numbering.
- 1929, 1931: George Madis's tables look like one unbroken Model 55 sequence. Past 12,002 that is not a real serial range, because the later rifles carry Model 94 numbers.
- 1930, 1932: George Madis's tables look like one unbroken Model 55 sequence. Past 12,002 that is not a real serial range, because the later rifles carry Model 94 numbers.
- 1933: Regular production ended in late December 1932. The quantities that George Madis's tables give through 1936 are not a continuation of a Model 55-only serial sequence.
- 1934–1935: Regular production ended in late December 1932. The quantities that George Madis's tables give through 1936 are not a continuation of a Model 55-only serial sequence.
- 1936: George Madis's tables look like one unbroken Model 55 sequence running to about 20,592. But regular production ended in late December 1932, and the quantities through 1936 are not a continuation of a Model 55-only serial 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 |
|---|---|
| 1924 | through 836 |
| 1925 | 837 – 2,783 |
| 1926 | 2,784 – 4,957 |
| 1927 | 4,958 – 8,021 |
| 1928 | 8,022 – 10,467 |
| 1929sources differ | 10,468 – 12,258 |
| 1930sources differ | 12,259 – 17,393 |
| 1931 | 17,394 – 18,198 |
| 1932 | 18,199 – 19,204 |
| 1933sources differ | 19,205 – 20,580 |
- 1933: This is the figure for leftover parts assembled after regular production ended, as given by Winchester's own customer-service list.
What to know about Model 55 serial numbers
- Model 55s had their own serial numbers, 1 to 12,002, through March 1928. After that they were numbered in the shared Model 94 sequence.
- The changeover number for the shared sequence, 1,015,938, is approximate. And 1,019,676 is only the earliest documented Model 55 cited by the Winchester collectors' association, not necessarily the first one made.
- George Madis's tables look like one unbroken Model 55 sequence running to about 20,592. Past 12,002 that is not a real serial range, because the later rifles carry Model 94 numbers.
- Regular production ran from June 1924 through late December 1932. The quantities that George Madis's tables give through 1936 are not a continuation of a Model 55-only serial sequence.
- The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum and the Winchester collectors' association estimate 20,580. George Madis and Proofhouse give 20,592. That difference of 12 is disputed.
- 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 lever-action rifles
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 55 serial numbers: 2–12,002; later rifles numbered in the Model 94 sequence. 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 →