GunSerialsWinchester Hotchkiss serial numbers by year
Winchester's first bolt-action rifle, designed by Benjamin Hotchkiss. It holds ammunition in a tube inside the shoulder stock. Military and sporting versions were made.
- Produced:
- 1878–approximately 1900
- Action:
- bolt-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 Hotchkiss 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 Hotchkiss 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 67 Winchester Hotchkisss sold individually at Rock Island Auction Company (46), Morphy Auctions (10), Poulin Auctions (10), and Amoskeag Auction Company (1) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antiquemade before 1899 | 67 | $1,781 – $3,450 | $2,588 | $1,458 – $4,324 |
Recent Hotchkiss 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2021 | Hotchkiss · 45-70 Government | Rock Island lot 287 | $2,588 |
| Oct 2021 | Hotchkiss · 45-70 Government | Rock Island lot 2534 | $2,588 |
| Oct 2025 | Hotchkiss · 45-70 Government | Rock Island lot 1256 | $2,644 |
| Aug 2026 | Hotchkiss | Poulin lot 4348 | $2,440 |
| Aug 2026 | Hotchkiss | Poulin lot 4347 | $2,196 |
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
Serial-number location varies by model; a documented Third Model has its serial number on the bottom ahead of the trigger-guard bow.
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 start-of-year production table · Pattern-rifle delivery reference points
Winchester Hotchkiss serial numbers by year
The full Hotchkiss 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. 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.
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 start-of-year production table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1879 | 1 – 3,100 |
| 1880 | 3,101 – 7,404 |
| 1881 | 7,405 – 12,906 |
| 1882–1883 | 12,907 – 18,338 |
| 1884 | 18,339 – 42,651 |
| 1885 | 42,652 – 53,066 |
| 1886–1888 | 53,067 – 54,721 |
| 1889 | 54,722 – 55,401 |
| 1890 | 55,402 – 67,031 |
| 1891 | 67,032 – 67,185 |
| 1892 | 67,186 – 67,203 |
| 1893 | 67,204 – 84,551 |
| 1893–1900approximate | 84,552 – 84,584 |
- 1886–1888: The 1887 to 1888 row has no published starting serial and no published quantity. This end figure is worked back from the next known starting point, 54,722 for 1889.
- 1893: George Madis's table dates this range to 1893. The factory's list of numbers made before 1899 stops at 84,551.
- 1893–1900: George Madis's table dates these numbers to 1893. But the factory's list of numbers made before 1899 stops at 84,551, and Hotchkiss rifles were still being made around 1900. So this row shows 1893 to 1900. A factory letter is the only way to tell whether one of these guns was made before 1899.
Pattern-rifle delivery reference points
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1879 | 101 |
| 1879 | 162 |
- 1879: Pattern rifle serial number 101 was one of the first complete rifles delivered in June 1879.
- 1879: Pattern rifle serial number 162 was one of the first complete rifles delivered in June 1879.
What to know about Hotchkiss serial numbers
- The top serial of 84,584 is not a count of guns finished.
- The warehouse records at the Cody Firearms Museum run to 84,584. That leaves 84,552 to 84,584 outside the confirmed pre-1899 antique cutoff, the line federal law uses to treat a gun as an antique.
- Guns were still being made and sold around 1900, even though nearly the whole run of numbers had been handed out earlier.
- The confirmed antique cutoff tells you when numbers were set aside and stamped, not when a gun shipped. A gun sold or shipped around 1900 may still carry a pre-1899 serial.
- The 1879, 1880 and 1883 models all share one Hotchkiss serial sequence. A serial number alone does not tell you which design you have.
- Some First Model carbines were rebuilt as Second Models, so the way a gun is built today need not be the way it left the factory.
- Civilian carbines converted from Army stock carry three-digit serial numbers.
- The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum give no date for when a Hotchkiss serial number was stamped.
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 Hotchkiss serial numbers: 1–84,584. 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 →