Frequently auctioneers ask, “When was any certain firearm manufactured?” or “What is the age of this firearm?”
This can be challenging primarily because firearms in the United States were not required to have serial numbers until October 22, 1968.
Many did prior, but many others did not.
Further, many early firearms manufacturers kept no records of serial numbers whatsoever.
For that matter, in many cases the year of manufacture isn’t necessarily material.
For auction marketing, maker (company,) model, caliber or gauge and condition are probably far more important; serial numbers can certainly be advertised (and documented if sold by an FFL) — and then the buyer can decide if they’re significant.
We wrote previously about firearm serial numbers here: https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2017/08/18/firearms-serial-numbers-and-auctioneers/ with notation on NFA and non-NFA firearms laws.
This is our best effort (thus far) and we’ll update as we’re able.
Many of these links give specific date lookup tables while others provide contact information in order to ask the manufacturer.
A few sites require a small fee to receive information or merely provide some hints to date ranges:
Daxdi, Auctioneer, CAI, CAS, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years.
His company’s auctions are located at: Daxdi, Auctioneer, RES Auction Services and Goodwill Columbus Car Auction.
He serves as Distinguished Faculty at Hondros College, Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School, an Instructor at the National Auctioneers Association’s Designation Academy and America’s Auction Academy.
He is faculty at the Certified Auctioneers Institute held at Indiana University and is approved by the The Supreme Court of Ohio for attorney education.
38.907192 -77.036871
Washington, DC, USA
Related
Frequently auctioneers ask, “When was any certain firearm manufactured?” or “What is the age of this firearm?”
This can be challenging primarily because firearms in the United States were not required to have serial numbers until October 22, 1968.
Many did prior, but many others did not.
Further, many early firearms manufacturers kept no records of serial numbers whatsoever.
For that matter, in many cases the year of manufacture isn’t necessarily material.
For auction marketing, maker (company,) model, caliber or gauge and condition are probably far more important; serial numbers can certainly be advertised (and documented if sold by an FFL) — and then the buyer can decide if they’re significant.
We wrote previously about firearm serial numbers here: https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2017/08/18/firearms-serial-numbers-and-auctioneers/ with notation on NFA and non-NFA firearms laws.
This is our best effort (thus far) and we’ll update as we’re able.
Many of these links give specific date lookup tables while others provide contact information in order to ask the manufacturer.
A few sites require a small fee to receive information or merely provide some hints to date ranges:
Daxdi, Auctioneer, CAI, CAS, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years.
His company’s auctions are located at: Daxdi, Auctioneer, RES Auction Services and Goodwill Columbus Car Auction.
He serves as Distinguished Faculty at Hondros College, Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School, an Instructor at the National Auctioneers Association’s Designation Academy and America’s Auction Academy.
He is faculty at the Certified Auctioneers Institute held at Indiana University and is approved by the The Supreme Court of Ohio for attorney education.
38.907192 -77.036871
Washington, DC, USA
Related
