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I think serial numbers, which are very visible on most Winchesters, are part of the visual appeal of the gun. I know numbers 1 million, 2 million, etc. went somewhere special, but when I see fancy, special order, engraved Winchesters they just have jumbled numbers, nothing interestingly appealing. I would think Winchester would have set aside interesting serial numbers like 11111, 12345, 55555, etc. and kept them available for fancy special guns. My friend has 1894 #1111111. It is just a standard rifle. I would think that would be appealing on a special order high grade gun. Looking at super fancy Winchesters in auction catalogs, they all have apparently whatever the next number in line was. If I ordered a high grade fancy Winchester I would appreciate it having an interesting distinctive serial number. Colt is the same way, from their earliest days their engraved, highly embellished first guns have whatever serial number came up next. I had Colt SAA #123456, just a standard gun.
I doubt Winchester placed much significance on serial numbers until they reached some landmark status, like 1,000,000 or 2,000,000. They received orders for many special order guns over the years, and setting aside unusual serial numbers for these guns would require additional record keeping.
Back then I think manufactures were not into the idea of selling collectables and that is what marketing unique serial numbers would of been. The closest gun they had back then to that was the 1873 and the 1876 1 of 1000 and 1 of 100 and it was about the accuracy. Now a days its all about marketing and how they are going to get someone to by another gun.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
1873man said
Back then I think manufactures were not into the idea of selling collectables and that is what marketing unique serial numbers would of been. The closest gun they had back then to that was the 1873 and the 1876 1 of 1000 and 1 of 100 and it was about the accuracy. Now a days its all about marketing and how they are going to get someone to by another gun.
Bob
I think marketing was a very big part of Winchester in past days, judging by all of the old advertising, special order guns, presentations, and most any feature you wanted to order made available. Setting aside a special number would not be any big deal, lots guns were shipped out of order, and with the number of special order guns made it would not have been a very long delay. This continued up to end of Winchester, and continues today at Colt. Current Colt engraved and custom guns have next in line serial numbers. Perhaps serial numbers mean nothing to most people, but I think it would be neat to have 1892 #1892 or Model 70 #111111 on my special order high grade gun.
I agree with the other fellows. There was no special incentive for Winchester to purposely set aside specific serial numbers for special order guns. The first time that Winchester did do such was with Model 94 serial number 1,000,000 (the first model to reach that production number).
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
I agree with the other guys as well. The only reason Winchester even put serial numbers on there guns was because it made it easier on them for tracking, ordering and shipping purposes. They weren’t required to put serial numbers on them until the 1930s. Which is why there are several 73s (along with other models) with replacement lower tangs that don’t have serial numbers.
Maverick
WACA #8783 - Checkout my Reloading Tool Survey!
https://winchestercollector.org/forum/winchester-research-surveys/winchester-reloading-tool-survey/
I guess the appearance of the serial was never a thought to people. Even special factory presentations, where the factory could have selected a special serial number at the time, they did not bother to do it. Seems strange to me, the owner sees that serial number when he looks at the gun, just like the engraving, gold bands, and checkering. The same today for many people I guess. I had S&W Triple Lock #123, I thought that was pretty neat, the guy I traded it to could not have cared less.
Some folks believe there is magic in numbers – I’m not one of them, but there are certain numbers which are intrinsically interesting for one reason or another…
Years ago, I was friends with a Thai LTC – he had all his grandfather’s royal court regalia, including his court sword and his pistol: a C96 Mauser of early vintage with matching holster stock. That pistol was serial #50666, and all the significant parts, including the, holster, were marked with the last 3 digits of the serial number – 666. I wasn’t able to talk him out of it, unfortunately.
Later, and more locally, I encountered a Bulgarian Makarov, of which the serial number (with Cyrillic letter prefix) translated as ‘VD666’ – I thought that was a neat number, but had unfortunate connotations…
And still later, I acquired a 1911A1 Colt, which was quite ordinary except for the serial number: 777777 – it is the only all-7 serial numbered 1911A1 (the earlier ones were 1911s, and military production never approached 7 million). Some previous owner apparently thought the piece, with its unique serial number, was ‘lucky’ – enough so that he had it gold plated, even the magazine. The ensemble was finished-off with a pair of Fitz Stag-lite grips. And it is in excellent condition, shooting as well as any military 1911-series pistol I’ve ever shot. It’s perfect for wear to barbecues, and would be the envy of many a Mexican drug lord. But the special thing about it, for me, is that mere possession of it makes me… ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’.
mhb – Mike
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