[FAQ] Pre-1899 Serial Number Reference List
Jwrawles
pre-1899. The following is some information that I have compiled over
the years.
Under U.S. law, any firearm actually made before Jan. 1, 1899, is not
considered a modern "firearm", and is thus legally "antique". No FFL is
required to buy or sell such guns across state lines. Thus they are in the
same legal category as a muzzle-loader. Some State or local restrictions
may apply, however.
Shootable pre-1899 production cartridge guns now bring a 10 to 20% premium
over identical condition guns made AFTER Jan. 1, 1899. Based on market
trends, I expect that premium to increase considerably in the next few
years. Many of my customers are commenting that they previously had no
interest in "antique" guns, but now want one or more because they fear
additional gun laws. For the time being at least, pre-1899 are completely
EXEMPT from all federal laws. Presumably, this would also mean that they
would be exempt if we ever have to face nationwide gun registration....
Here is a partial list of pre-1899 "cut-off" serial numbers:
Ballard and Marlin-Ballard rifles, all are pre-1899
Colt Single Action Army (SAA) and Bisely revolvers with serial numbers
under 182,000. I consider SAAs with serials between 165,000 and 182,000
(1896 to 1898 production) the most desirable, since they have steel frames
(and are thus safe to shoot modern smokeless loads), yet they are
Federally exempt.
Colt M1889 Navy .38, all are pre-1899
Colt New Police .32 (serial numbers below 7,300)
Colt New Pocket Model (ser. # below 11,900)
Colt "New Army" or "New Navy" .38s and .41s (ser. # below 115,000)
Colt Model 1878 D.A. .44-40, .45 Colt, etc. (ser. # below 41,000)
Colt Lightning and Thunderer .38s and .41s (ser. # below 111,500)
Colt New Service, first year of production (1898) only. (ser. # below 250)
Forehand and Wadsworth .32 or.38 (all made before 1891.)
Marlin rifles--serial number groups not consecutive! The only models that
can be safely assumed pre-1899 are the Model 1881, 1888, Model 1889, and
1891.
Mauser M1896 "Broomhandle" pistols with *cone ring hammers* are generally
pre-1899
Mauser Bolt Action Rifles. See listings by model year:
M1889 Belgian, most rifles are pre-1899. However, carbines with yatagan
bayonet mounts are all legally modern.
M1890 Turkish, all are pre-1899
M1891 Argentine Contract, all are pre-1899
M1891/1892/1893 Spanish rifles, all are pre-1899
M1893/M1895 Spanish *carbines*, --see date on receiver ring
M1893 Turkish Contract rifles, all are pre-1899
M1894 Brazilian Contract, all are pre-1899
M1894 Swedish carbines --see date on receiver ring--about 40% are pre-1899
M1895 Chilean Contract by Ludwig Loewe are pre-1899 (Most DWMs are not!)
M1895 Contracts for China, Mexico, Persia, Spanish, and Uruguay--see date
on receiver ring, (if undated, it is anyone's guess.)
M1896 Swedish rifles --see date on receiver ring--only about 1% are
pre-1899
M1896 German, all are pre-1899
M1898 German--see date on receiver ring--less than 1% are pre-1899
Merwin Hulbert revolvers, all are pre-1899
Mosin-Nagant rifles--see date on receiver ring--less than 10% are pre-1899
Remington Model 1875 revolvers, all are pre-1899
Remington Model 1890 revolvers, all are pre-1899
Remington-Lee bolt actions, all U.S. military models are pre-1899, but
most
civilian models are legally modern
Remington-Keene bolt actions, all are pre-1889
S&W top break (.32 and .38 S&W caliber) revolvers (serial # below 116,000)
S&W Model 3 single action revolvers--all are pre-1899 (Note, however that
many "New Model 3"s are modern)
S&W .45 Schofield revolvers, all are pre-1899
S&W Double Action "Favorite" revolvers, all are pre-1899
Sharps Co. Rifles, all are pre-1899
U.S. ("Trapdoor") Springfield .45-70, all are pre-1899
U.S. .30-40 Krag bolt actions (serial # below 152,670)
Whitney Arms Co., all are pre-1899
Winchester Model 1873 (serial # below 525,923)
Winchester Model 1885 (serial # below 84,701)
Winchester Model 1886 (serial # below 119,193) (Note: I pay top
dollar for spare M1886 tangs with ser. # below 119,193.)
Winchester Model 1887 (all were produced before 1899).
Winchester Model 1890 (serial # below 64,521)
Winchester Model 1892 (serial # below 165,432)
Winchester Model 1893 (serial # below 34,204)
Winchester Model 1894 (serial # below 147,685)
Winchester Model 1895 (serial # below 19,872)
Winchester Model 1897 (serial # below 63,633)
Winchester Lee (U.S. Navy) Straight-Pull 6 mm (serial # below 20,000)
BTW, since I don't have a copy of the Jinks and Neal book or other
authoritative references on S&Ws, I would appreciate it if another netter
could identify which serial number ranges of the S&W New Model 3 revolver,
D.A. First Model revolver, and S&W "Frontier" revolvers are pre-1899.
I hope that you find this information useful. Your comments, additions,
and corrections are appreciated.
Jim Rawles, Proprietor The obligatory quote...
Clearwater Trading Co. "Our liberty is protected
c/o P.O. Box 2289 by four boxes...
Orofino, Idaho [83544] The ballot box, the jury box
voice: (208) 476-4440 the soap box, and the cartridge box"
e-mail: Jwra...@aol.com - Anonymous
Let me know if you'd like my UPDATED and expanded catalog of
shootable antique guns (primarily pre-1899 production "No FFL"
Mausers and Winchesters), gun accessories (mainly clips and
magazines), ammunition, backpacks, sleeping bags, waterproof
gun/gear cases, and coins. (Due to AOL e-mail length restrictions,
you'll get the catalog in two parts.) You can also now read my new
shareware novel, The Gray Nineties. It is piece of speculative survival
fiction about a socio-economic collapse and its aftermath. Hard copies
are *NOT* available, but you can download a soft copy of the entire
text
free of charge from the web site at:
http://www.eskimo.com/~hmcom/4/db/gn/cover.html