GunSerialsThe pre-1899 antique line · model by model
Which Winchesters are pre-1899 antiques?
Federal law calls a gun an antique if it was made in 1898 or earlier. This page shows where that line falls in the serial numbers of 14 early Winchester models. For 10 of them, the records do not agree on where the line is.
The rule, and the line
“Pre-1899” means before January 1, 1899. A gun made in 1899 does not qualify under this age rule. The federal definition of an antique firearm begins:
“Any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898.”
That is from the ATF rule book, 27 CFR 478.11. It repeats the Gun Control Act, the federal law. The rest of the definition is about replicas and muzzle-loaders. State laws can be different, and so can the National Firearms Act.
Source: 27 CFR 478.11 on eCFR, the government’s official copy of the regulation.
Serial number tables can tell you about when a gun was made. But the tables come from different places, and they do not all agree. Some are the factory’s own records of when each number was stamped. Others are later estimates, from George Madis’s reference books and from Winchester’s customer service list. Stamping the number, finishing the gun, and shipping it happened at different times. So check which of those dates a table is giving you.
The line, model by model
Models with the biggest gap between the records come first.
| Model | Pre-1899 through | Records disagree | 1899 or later from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model 1894 | 53,941 | 53,942 – 147,684 | 147,685 |
| Model 1892 | 103,328 | 103,329 – 165,431 | 165,432 |
| Model 1895 Lee Navy | 13,389 | 13,390 – 20,000except 13,680 – 14,999: 1899 or later in every record | 20,001 |
| Model 1885 | 82,381 | 82,382 – 84,700 | 84,701 |
| Model 1897 | 63,867 | 63,868 – 64,668 | 64,669 |
| Model 1886 | 118,646 | 118,647 – 119,192 | 119,193 |
| Model 1873 | 525,750 | 525,751 – 526,158 | 526,159 |
| Model 1895 | 19,567 | 19,568 – 19,871 | 19,872 |
| Model 1890 | 64,520 | 64,521 – 64,748 | 64,749 |
| Model 1887 | 64,842 | 64,843 – 64,855 | 64,856 |
“Pre-1899 through” means that number and everything below it. Every table that covers those numbers puts them before 1899. “1899 or later from” means that number and everything above it. The numbers in between are where the tables disagree. A table can only date the numbers it covers. These are estimates from tables. They are not proof of a gun’s legal status.
In the notes below, “Cody” means the factory records kept at the Cody Firearms Museum in Wyoming. “Madis” means George Madis’s reference books on Winchester.
- Model 1894. This is the biggest gap: 93,743 serial numbers. Madis's table puts them in 1896 to 1898. The factory's numbering records put them in 1899 or later. The factory records end 1898 at 53,941. The lookup shows each estimate for any number you enter.
- Model 1892. The Cody table ends 1898 at 103,328. Winchester's customer service list ends it at 165,431. Checks against factory letters have also found mistakes in the older estimates. If your number is near either cutoff, ask about the original records for that gun.
- Model 1895 Lee Navy. The sources here are dating different things. Madis ends 1898 at 13,389. The factory's list of numbers made before 1899 runs to 13,679, so 13,390 to 13,679 depends on the source. Both put 13,680 to 14,999 in 1899 or later. The factory's list also includes the second Navy contract, 15,000 to 20,000, delivered from August to December 1898. Madis dates those numbers 1908 to 1914. Check the records for your gun before deciding.
- Model 1885. The Cody records end 1898 at 82,381. Madis ends it at 84,700. That is a gap of 2,319 numbers. The two sources put 82,382 to 84,700 on different sides of 1899.
- Model 1897. Madis marks his 1898 figure with an asterisk, meaning it is an estimate. The Cody records put the last serial stamped in 1898 at 63,867. That is 801 numbers lower.
- Model 1886. The two are 546 numbers apart. The Cody records give 118,646 as the last receiver numbered in 1898. Madis's tables give 119,192.
- Model 1873. Three published figures disagree. Cody gives 525,750. Madis gives 525,922. The collectors' association study of the records gives 526,158. A gun between those numbers needs more proof than a table estimate.
- Model 1895. The Cody records end 1898 at 19,567. Madis ends it at 19,871. That is a gap of 304 numbers. Both put numbers below 19,568 before 1899.
- Model 1890. Here the Cody cutoff is the higher one: 64,748, against Madis's 64,520. So the Cody table puts 228 more numbers before 1899.
- Model 1887. This is the one model where Madis's table and Winchester's customer service list have no 1899 row at all. Both, in effect, put the whole run through 64,855 in 1898. The Cody records split it. They show 64,843 to 64,855 numbered in 1899. The collectors' association dates the last Model 1887 production to March 1899.
Models the tables put entirely before 1899
The serial tables put every number of these 4 models before 1899. Modern reproductions are not included. The Hotchkiss has one exception, explained below:
- Hotchkiss, numbered through 84,551. Madis's table reaches 84,584 in 1893. The factory's list of numbers made before 1899 stops a little lower, at 84,551. The collectors' association says production ended around 1900. So a Hotchkiss numbered 84,552 to 84,584 may not be an antique. Check the factory records for that gun.
- Model 1866, numbered through 170,100. Original production ended in 1898. The references differ by one final serial number. Madis gives 170,100 and Cody gives 170,101. Modern reproductions are separate.
- Model 1876, numbered through 63,871. Original production ended in 1898. The published tables end at 63,870. Winchester's list and Cody's records go one number higher, to 63,871.
- Model 1893, numbered through 35,402. Original production ran from 1893 to 1897. The published table ends at 34,203. But factory letters show numbers through at least 35,402, still in 1897.
A Model 1894 was not always made in 1894
The number in most older Winchester model names is a year: the year that design first came out. It is not the year your gun was built. The Model 1894 got its name because Winchester introduced it in 1894. Then the factory kept building it for decades. A rifle made in 1925 or 1960 is still called a Model 1894. Later names such as the Model 52 and Model 70 are plain model numbers, not years. The name tells you which design you have. The serial number tells you when the receiver was numbered. The factory records or the published tables turn that number into a year.
That matters here, because the antique rule is about when your gun was made. The tables date a Model 1894 with serial 147,685 or higher to 1899 or later. Same name on the barrel, but not an antique.
The Model 1901 shows the same thing from the other side. It is the Model 1887 shotgun, made stronger and given a new name. It kept using the 1887’s serial numbers. Its records begin at 64,856 on June 29, 1899. Every gun numbered from there on is a Model 1901. All of them were made in 1899 or later, so none of them is an antique.
Why the records disagree
The factory wrote down its records as the work happened. The later tables are estimates of where each year’s production ended. If an estimate is off, it can put a lot of serial numbers in the wrong year. On the Model 1894, the two figures for the end of 1898 are almost 94,000 numbers apart.
The factory records do not always give the lower number. On eight of the 10 models, the factory’s line is below Madis’s line. That means fewer antiques than his tables would give. On two models it goes the other way. On the Model 1890, the factory records keep 1898 going for 228 numbers past Madis’s cutoff. On the Lee Navy, the Navy contract guide lists 1898 deliveries thousands of numbers past Madis’s end of 1898. How the two kinds of records differ, model by model →
Why antique status matters
Whether a gun counts as an antique changes which rules apply when you sell or ship it. This page only helps you research how old a gun is. Before you count on antique status for a sale or a shipment, check the rules for that gun and that place.
If you are not sure of the date, ask the Cody Firearms Records Office what records they have for your serial number. A factory letter can put those records in writing. What it can tell you depends on which records survived.
Questions
What makes a gun an antique under US federal law?
Under the federal Gun Control Act, a gun made in 1898 or earlier is an antique. This page compares what the serial number tables say about that cutoff. It helps you check a gun's age. It does not decide the legal status of any one gun.
Is my Model 1894 an antique?
The tables here put numbers up through 53,941 before 1899. They put numbers from 147,685 up in 1899 or later. For the numbers in between, the sources do not agree. If you need better proof of age, ask the Cody Firearms Records Office what records they have for your serial number.
Which Winchester models were numbered entirely before 1899?
The serial tables put every number of these 4 models before 1899: the Hotchkiss (through 84,551 by the factory's pre-1899 list; the last 33 numbers, up to 84,584, may be later), the Model 1866 (numbering ended in 1898 at 170,100), the Model 1876 (numbering ended in 1898 at 63,871), and the Model 1893 (made from 1893 to 1897). This means the original guns, not modern reproductions.
My serial number is in a range where the records disagree. What should I do?
First, make sure you have the right model and the full serial number. Then ask the Cody Firearms Records Office whether records for your gun survived and what dates they show. A factory letter can help prove a gun's age when the tables do not agree.
Does a gun made in 1899 count as an antique?
No. The line is guns made before 1899. The records show how sharp that line is. The Model 1901 is a renamed Model 1887. Its serial numbers start at 64,856 on June 29, 1899, so no Model 1901 is an antique. The last Model 1887s in the factory records, serials 64,843 to 64,855, were also numbered in 1899. By the factory records, they are not antiques either.
How these figures were worked out
- The cutoffs come from the same published tables the serial lookup uses: the factory’s own numbering records where they survive, George Madis’s tables, and Winchester’s 2012 customer service list. Each model’s page names its sources and shows the tables.
- The first column uses the lowest published number for the end of 1898. The last column starts one number above the highest. The numbers in between are where the tables disagree. A table that stops early cannot date numbers past where it stops.
- The figures are the tables’ own year-end numbers. Sometimes different editions give different figures. The Model 1873 has three published numbers for the last serial of 1898. In that case the middle column shows the full spread.
- A serial number line dates the stamping of the number, not the finishing of the gun. Now and then the factory finished a gun from an older receiver years later. So the line tells you when the number was stamped. A factory letter reports the actual dates instead of guessing.
Think one of these numbers looks wrong? Tell us what you’re seeing and include a source so we can check it.