Since 1955, most Zippo lighters have carried a date code stamped on the base. Originally this was intended as a quality control record, so that lighters returned for repair could be identified as to when they were manufactured and if, for example, a number of lighters were returned with the same fault then Zippo could identify a possible defect in the manufacturing process or even a supplier of one of the components.
Even prior to the coding system we can go some way to identifying the approximate year of manufacture, as the stamping on the bottom has changed slightly over the years.
Lighters assembled at the Canadian factory are covered here - Dating Canadian Lighters
As lighters are meant to be used, coins or keys carried in the same pocket can cause scratches on the bottom of the lighter so it is necessary to look very carefully at the bottom, as the marking can be quite difficult to make out. A magnifying glass can be quite useful.
The first lighters (1933 to 1935) can easily be identified by the words "PAT PENDING MADE IN U. S.A." on the bottom. From 1936 until 1953 the bottom will have "PAT2032695 MADE IN U. S.A." Lighters made in 1953-1955 will have PAT 2517191 ® PAT. PEND.
On the image below we can clearly see that there are four dots, either side of the word Zippo. The dots were used between late 1955 and 1965. with one dot being removed each year. As there were some alterations to the positioning of the text on the bottom line, some codes were used twice, therefore close attention should be paid to the text on the bottom line for lighters with 7 or 8 dots.
The next set of codes used upright lines either side of the word Zippo. These were used between 1966 and 1973. Again 8 lines were used for the first year of the series, with one line being removed each year.
From 1974 until 1981 the solidus (now commonly referred to as a forward slash) was used. In 1979 an error was made and the slash was removed from the left instead of the right
1982 saw the use of the reverse solidus (or backslash) and this continued in use until mid 1986.
In July 1986 the line symbols were discontinued and the lighters were then identified by a series of roman numerals. These were placed to the left of the word Zippo, which left the space to the right free. It was decided to print a letter to indicate the actual month of manufacture with A = January, B = February etc. The 1937 replica series introduced in in 1985 were the first lighters to carry the Roman Numerals and 1985 lighters are stamped with I, but no date letter. Early 1986 lighters of this series do have earlier date codes. This series continued until 2000
In March 2000 the roman numerals were supplemented with the actual year of manufacture (2000) printed below the roman numeral (XVI). Then in 2001 the roman numerals were removed completely and just the last two digits of the year were shown (01, 02 etc)
Dating Zippo Lighters
Reference for Dating Zippo Lighters
While the information for dating a Zippo is widely available, it isn't that handy to find it all in a single location. This should provide the information to fix a relatively precise date for any Zippo lighter.
Slim lighters were first introduced in 1956, with a flat bottom and no date code. The first markings were added in 1957 and overlapped into 1958. From 1957-1965 the code configuration on the slim lighters differed from the regular lighters (See Date Code Chart below). From 1966 on, the configuration has been the same.
The appearance of the word "Zippo" in the bottom stamp provides another clue to dating. There have been three major changes, as shown in inset. From 1933 to the mid 50s the word Zippo was stamped in block letters. The Zippo script logo was developed in the late 40s and was phased-in on the lighter bottom stamp around 1955. In the late 70s the logo was redesigned. It was incorporated into the bottom stamp in 1980.
From August, 1949 through July, 2002 Zippos were also produced in Niagara Falls, Canada - the only place other than Bradford, PA where they were ever produced. About 13.5 million lighters were produced by Zippo Canada. The bottom stamp differs by having Niagara Falls, Ontario rather than Bradford, PA on it.
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SMOKERSTUFF IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED & NOT ACCEPTING ORDERS
SMOKERSTUFF IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED & NOT CURRENTLY ACCEPTING ORDERS
Smokerstuff domain and business are FOR SALE
In business since 1999 with many millions of hits, and even though we have been closed for over a year, we still get plenty of hits, and STILL have high rankings on many of the search engines for MANY keyword combinations.
I never implemented a shopping cart, and never expanded the product catalog past a bare minimum. If someone decided to do these things, with an existing domain that already enjoys exposure and frequent HITS . you would have a great head start as compared with starting a "new" business from scratch. Or, add this domain to an already existing business and domain. The search engines give EXTRA ranking to those sites that have been indexed for the longest! Knifestuff has been around for a LONG time. You could NEVER start a NEW web site and get anywhere near the high search engine rankings.
I could connect you with all the major wholesale outlets.
The business is NOT currently in operation, and has no recent sale history.
Sister company, "Knifestuff ", is also for sale.
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"Discount Camel Zippo" is NUMBER 1 on Page 1!
" Camel Zippo Lighters" takes positions NUMBER 3, 4 and 5 on Page 1 (out of 44,200 results)!
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Contact me at ONLY regarding sale of business and domain:
Welcome to Yellowhorse Collectibles Knives
I hope you enjoy the custom and collectible knives I have for sale. I have a wide selection of collectible Yellowhorse knives and custom Zippo lighters both old and new. I stock custom and production Lone Wolf Knives . Custom Creations by Santa Fe Stone Works . and Painted Pony creations by Michael Prater . I now stock William Henry Fine Knives and many of the harder to get Special Factory Orders . I list new products weekly so come back often and enjoy my site.
If you have any questions or are looking for a particular collectible knife or zippo give me a call:
Realizing that times are difficult right now, I would like to allow you the option of making an offer on any knife of your choosing. If you see something that you would really like to have but cannot afford my price, email me an offer or give me a call (870) 236 -0133 and lets try to work out a deal. I hope to hear from you soon, if for nothing else just to talk about knives for a while, and maybe we can solve a few of the worlds problems too.
I also buy and sell knife collections outright. If you are looking for someone to sell your knives, then give me a call to discuss consignment of your collection.
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