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Zippo
Lighter Identification Codes
Over
the years the Zippo® lighter has become valued as a collectible.
Age is one factor used to determine the value of a Zippo® lighter.
But how can the age be determined? A code stamped on the bottom of every
lighter reveals the month and year of manufacture.
The date
code stamp, originally intended to track lighters returned for repair,
actually contributed to the Zippo® lighter becoming a collectible.
With an easy way to determine the date a lighter was produced,, collectors
could examine not only the style and condition of a lighter but the
exact date of production.
Below are the Zippo® date codes.
| Year
|
Regular
Lighter
Left
Side |
Regular
Lighter
Right
Side
|
Slim
Lighter
Left
Side |
Slim
Lighter
Right
Side |
| 1933 |
Patent Pending |
|
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| 1937 |
Patent 2032695 |
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| 1942-1946 |
Black Crackle, Patent 203695
(This number was erroneously stamped, it should have been
Patent 2032695.)
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| c.1949-c.1957 |
Patent 2517191
with patent pending |
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| |
From
1949-1957, Zippo® records indicate an overlap of bottom
stamp configurations and some lighters produced between 1955-1957
were date coded, however, specifics remain unclear. By 1959,
the date coding was fully in effect. |
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| c.1951-c.1957 |
Patent 2517191 |
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| 1957 |
|
|
.
. . . |
.
. . . |
| 1958 |
Patent
. . . . |
2517191
. . . . |
.
. . .
. . . . |
|
.
. . .
. . .
| 1959 |
|
.
. .. |
.
. . |
.
. . |
| 1960 |
.
. . |
.
. . |
.
. . |
.
. |
| 1961 |
.
. . |
.
. |
.
. |
.
. |
| 1962 |
.
. |
.
. |
.
. |
. |
| 1963 |
.
. |
. |
. |
. |
| 1964 |
. |
. |
. |
|
| 1965 |
. |
|
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| 1966 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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| 1967 |
| | | | |
| | | |
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| 1968 |
| | | |
| | | |
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| 1969 |
| | | |
| | |
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| 1970 |
| | |
| | |
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| 1971 |
| | |
| |
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| 1972 |
| |
| |
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| 1973 |
| |
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| 1974 |
//// |
//// |
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| 1975 |
//// |
/// |
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| 1976 |
/// |
/// |
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| 1977 |
/// |
// |
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| 1978 |
// |
// |
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| 1979 |
An
error was made in the date code. One of the slash marks was
removed from the left of the Zippo trademark instead of being
removed from the right; thus the code read: / //.This date code
error was corrected within the same year to read: // /. |
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| 1980 |
/ |
/ |
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| 1981 |
/ |
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| 1982 |
\\\\ |
\\\\ |
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| 1983 |
\\\\ |
\\\ |
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| 1984 |
\\\ |
\\\ |
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| 1985 |
\\\ |
\\ |
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| 1986 |
\\ |
\\ |
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Effective July 1, 1986
the above system was replaced by year/lot code. The year is
noted with Roman Numerals, the letter on the left designates
lot month (A=Jan., B=Feb., etc.) |
|
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Year
|
Regular
and Slim
Lighters
Left Side
|
Regular
and Slim
Lighters
Right Side/strong>
|
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| 1986 |
G to L |
II |
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| 1987 |
A to L |
III |
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| 1988 |
A to L |
IV |
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| 1989 |
A to L |
V |
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| 1990 |
A to L |
VI |
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| 1991 |
A to L |
VII |
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| 1992 |
A to L |
VIII |
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| 1993 |
A to L |
IX |
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| 1994 |
A to L |
X |
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| 1995 |
A to L |
XI |
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| 1996 |
A to L |
XII |
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| 1997 |
A to L |
XIII |
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| 1998 |
A to L |
XIV |
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| 1999 |
A to L |
XV |
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| 2000 |
A to L |
XVI |
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Beginning
early 2000, lighters produced will feature the Zippo® logo
on the left, the month code in the center, and 2000 stamped above
the Roman Numeral XVI. |
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Beginning
2001 and after,, Zippo® has introduced a new, date code. The
letters A through L on the left of the Zippo® logo will still
represent the month of manufacture. However, the year of manufacture
is now identified by the last two numbers of that year, stamped
to the right of the Zippo® logo. |
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Year
|
Regular
and Slim
Lighters
Left
Side |
Regular
and Slim
Lighters
Right
Side |
Zippo
Multi-Purpose Lighter
 |
| Left
Side |
Right
Side |
| 2001 |
A
to L |
01 |
The MPL was first produced in February,
2002.The MPL's manufactured in late February and March 2002
had a blank adjustment knob. The first MPL's to have a date
code were those produced in April,, 2002 and after. |
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| 2002 |
A
to L |
02 |
D
to L |
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| 2003 |
A
to L |
03 |
A
to L |
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| 2004 |
A
to L |
04 |
A
to L |
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| 2005 |
A
to L |
05 |
A
to L |
05 |
| 2006 |
A
to L |
06 |
A
to L |
06 |
| 2007 |
A
to L |
07 |
A
to L |
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| 2008 |
A
to L |
08 |
A
to L |
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| 2009 |
A
to L |
09 |
A
to L |
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| 2010 |
A
to L |
10 |
A
to L |
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Don't
see what you're looking for or have a question, contact us at...
info@lightersetc.com
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