Dating "Pre Coded" Zippos
1946 - 1953
This era presents the most difficult lighters to date. Whilst the base stamps my look similar there are a number of differences to observe. There appears to be some overlap between the base stamps used on these lighters. In researching this page I am indebted to many other collectors who have sent me photographs of lighters in their collections that were factory engraved with a date. By looking at factory dated lighters we can make some assumptions that that the lighter was made either in that particular year or maybe the year before. All the information on this page has been obtained from a study of these dated lighters.
I am sure that there are other base stamps out there that I have yet to see, and I have little doubt that there are factory dated lighters that do not fit the years I have shown. If you do have a lighter that does not match my guide please let me know and I will update the information. Much research remains to be done and this page will be updated as this research continues. Should you have any information that may help other collectors, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Lighters made in early 1946 have a case made from Nickel-silver. These cases can have a tendency to look yellow and are non magnetic. There will be no chrome plating on the case. They will have a 3 barrel hinge with the centre barrel being longer than the outer barrels. Towards the end of 1946 the hinge altered with all 3 barrels becoming the same length.
The top picture is a chrome plated Zippo, whilst the bottom picture is a Nickel-silver unplated lighter. Note the difference in the colour cast between the two. The width and placement of the word ZIPPO and the shape of the number 3 in the patent should also be noted
My research so far has identified 9 changes in the stampings used. There is a significant overlap
For the early 1946 lighters, two different base stamps have been identified. The first has no gap between "PAT & 2" whereas the second base has a gap. Also note the width of the word Zippo.
A | Case - Nickel Silver Hinge - 3 Barrel 3 - Flat Top Zippo - Narrow |
The "O" of Zippo sits below the first "D" of Bradford and above the D&E of Made. The word Zippo is compact. Note the lack of spacing (T.2) on line 3 | 1946 | |
B | Case - Nickel Silver Hinge - 3 Barrel 3 - Flat Top Zippo - Wide |
The "O" of Zippo sits below the D&F of Bradford and above the E of Made. The word Zippo is stretched | 1946 |
In mid 1946, two changes occurred, The first was that the size of the lighter was reduced by 1mm (0.04"), the second was the introduction of Chrome plating. Both the base stamps above were still being used and two others have been identified from this period.
Tall and short lighters side by side for comparison | |
A | Case - Nickel Silver, Chrome Plated Hinge - 3 Barrel 3 - Flat Top Zippo - Narrow |
The "O" of Zippo sits below the first "D" of Bradford and above the D&E of Made. The word Zippo is compact. Note the lack of spacing (T.2) on line 3 | Early 1947 | ||
B | Case - Nickel Silver, Chrome Plated Hinge - 3 Barrel 3 - Flat Top Zippo - Wide |
The "O" of Zippo sits below the D&F of Bradford and above the E of Made. The word Zippo is stretched | Early 1947 | ||
C | Case - Nickel Silver, Chrome Plated Hinge - 3 Barrel 3 - Rounded Top Zippo - Wide |
Notice the short "legs" on the letter "P" | Early 1947 | ||
D | Case - Nickel Silver, Chrome Plated Hinge - 3 Barrel 3 - Rounded Top Zippo - Wide |
Notice the height of the word "ZIPPO" | This is the most common stamp of this era. It is found on both 3 and 5 barrel lighters and was in use from 1947 until 1952 | Early 1947 |
In mid 1947 the hinge altered so that all three barrels were now equal in length
A | Case - Nickel Silver, Chrome Plated Hinge - 3 Barrel 3 - Flat Top Zippo - Narrow |
The "O" of Zippo sits below the first "D" of Bradford and above the D&E of Made. The word Zippo is compact. Note the lack of spacing (T.2) on line 3 | Late 1947 | |
D | Case - Nickel Silver, Chrome Plated Hinge - 3 Barrel 3 - Rounded Top Zippo - Wide |
This is the most common stamp of this era. It is found on both 3 and 5 barrel lighters and was in use from 1947 until 1952 | Late 1947 |
The only base stamp I have found on 1948 Zippo is style "D"
D | Case - Brass, Chrome Plated Hinge - 3 Barrel 3 - Rounded Top Zippo - Wide |
This is the most common stamp of this era. It is found on both 3 and 5 barrel lighters and was in use from 1947 until 1952 | 1948 |
Style "D" continued in use throughout 1949. During 1949 the 5 barrel hinge was introduced
D | Case - Brass, Chrome Plated Hinge - 3 or 5 Barrel 3 - Rounded Top Zippo - Wide |
This is the most common stamp of this era. It is found on both 3 and 5 barrel lighters and was in use from 1947 until 1952 | 1949 | ||
E | Case - Brass, Chrome Plated Hinge - 3 or 5 Barrel 3 - Rounded Top Zippo - Wide |
Positioning of the letters is the same as style "D" but the word "Zippo" is slightly taller (look carefully at the second "P" and the distance to the top of the "A") | 1949 | ||
Style "D" continued in use throughout 1950
D | Case - Brass, Chrome Plated Hinge - 5 Barrel 3 - Rounded Top Zippo - Wide |
This is the most common stamp of this era. It is found on both 3 and 5 barrel lighters and was in use from 1947 until 1952 | 1950 | |
F | Case - Brass, Chrome Plated Hinge - 5 Barrel 3 - Flat Top Zippo - Wide |
The "O" of Zippo now sits almost perfectly above the "E" of Made, and the vertical line of the "B" in Bradford lines up with the vertical line in the second "P" of Zippo. There is a double space (5 M) on line 3 | 1950 | |
G | Case - Brass, Chrome Plated Hinge - 5 Barrel 3 - Flat Top Zippo - Wide |
As style "F" the "O" of Zippo now sits almost perfectly above the "E" of Made. But the second "P" of Zippo is now closer to the "R" of Bradford. | 1950 |
During 1951, because of the conflict in South Korea, brass again became a difficult commodity to obtain. Zippo switched to using chrome plated steel for their lighters. Styles D, F & G all appear on both Brass and Steel lighters, whereas I have only found styles H & ! on steel lighters
D | Case - Brass or Steel, Chrome Plated Hinge - 5 Barrel 3 - Rounded Top Zippo - Wide |
This is the most common stamp of this era. It is found on both 3 and 5 barrel lighters and was in use from 1947 until 1952 | 1951 1952 |
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F | Case - Brass or Steel, Chrome Plated Hinge - 5 Barrel 3 - Flat Top Zippo - Wide |
The "O" of Zippo now sits almost perfectly above the "E" of Made, and the vertical line of the "B" in Bradford lines up with the vertical line in the second "P" of Zippo. There is a double space (5 M) on line 3 | 1951 1952 |
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Styles G, H & I are quite difficult to differentiate between as the placement is very similar. The first thing to note is the height of the both line 1 and line 3. Looking at the "CO" it will be noticed that the height of the lines has shrunk as both these letters are more rounded. The only difference is the thickness of the letters. This may have been caused by a greater pressure on the stamping machine, pushing further into the metal, so these could all be the same design, stamped with the same tool, but on different days. It should be noted that styles H & I have only been found on steel lighters so the pressure of the stamping machine could have been increased to cope with the different material |
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G | Case - Brass or Steel, Chrome Plated Hinge - 5 Barrel 3 - Flat Top Zippo - Wide |
The "O" of Zippo sits above the D& E of Made. Note the spacing on line 3 | 1951 1952 |
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H | Awaiting Photograph | Case - Steel, Chrome Plated Hinge - 5 Barrel 3 - Flat Top Zippo - Wide |
The spacing is the same as style G, but the letters are thicker, but not as thick as style H Below | 1951 1952 |
I | Case - Steel, Chrome Plated Hinge - 5 Barrel 3 - Flat Top Zippo - Wide |
The letters are very thick. There is only a small space between the 5 of the patent number and the "M" of MADE | 1951 1952 |
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Styles D, F, G, H & I continued in use during the early part of 1953, before the change to the full bottom stamp and the newer 2517291 patent number.
1946 to 1953 Inserts
During the period above, there were a number of alterations made to the insert. These range from the material used, the number of holes in the chimney, the shape of the chimney and the design of the flint wheel, as well as the actual stamping on the insert. All of these can be used to help date the insert, and when used with the case dating chart above can help to give a more accurate date of manufacture.
The third column in the table below describes the changes in the manufacturing process and the first time it changes, links are provided to photographs showing the detail..
One thing to be aware of is that some people may have swapped inserts between lighters in their collection in the past, so it can be possible to find brand new in box lighters where the insert and case do not match. This can (and has for me) make it a lot more difficult to date the insert than the actual cases, so all then information below is based on my own personal observations.
a | Material - Nickel Silver Holes - 14 3 - Flat Top Chimney - Closed Flint Wheel - Horizontal Cam - Rounded Pad - Cigarette Filter |
Early 1946 | ||
b | Material - Nickel Silver Holes - 14 3 - Flat Top Chimney - Closed Flint Wheel - Diagonal Cam - Rounded or Square Pad - Cigarette Filter |
See photographs below for differences | Late 1946 to Early 1947 | |
c | Material - Nickel Silver Holes - 16 3 - Flat Top Chimney - Open Flint Wheel - Diagonal Cam - Rounded or Square Pad - Felt |
See photographs below for differences | Late 1947 |
d | Material - Nickel Silver Holes - 16 3 - Flat Top Chimney - Open Flint Wheel - Diagonal Cam - Square Pad - Felt |
Note how the word Zippo has become longer The Z is now above the 3 and the O is now above the E | 1948 to 1951 |
1 Horizontal teeth on flint wheel - Closed Chimney
2 Diagonal teeth on flint wheel - Closed Chimney
3 Diagonal teeth on flint wheel - Open Chimney
Rounded Cam (Top)
Square Cam (Bottom)
Different pads
From late 1951 until mid 1953 I have found no less than 6 different inserts in use. All will be made from Stainless Steel. Rather than show the whole insert, I have decided to show just the stamping, as this will allow larger pictures for comparison purposes. As with the bottom stamps, close attention should be paid to the positioning of the word Zippo compared to the top and bottom lines.
e | Material - Stainless Steel Holes - 16 3 - Round Top Chimney - Open Flint Wheel - Diagonal Cam - Square Pad - Felt |
Z above 3 & 2, I between 6 & 2, O to right of E | 1951 to 1953 |
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f | Material - Stainless Steel Holes - 16 3 - Flat Top Chimney - Open Flint Wheel - Diagonal Cam - Square Pad - Felt |
Z above 3 & 2, I to right of 6, O above E | 1951 to 1953
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g | Material - Stainless Steel Holes - 16 3 - Round Top Chimney - Open Flint Wheel - Diagonal Cam - Square Pad - Felt |
Z above 9, I above 5, O above D & E | 1951 to 1953
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h | Material - Stainless Steel Holes - 16 3 - Flat Top Chimney - Open Flint Wheel - Diagonal Cam - Square Pad - Felt |
Z above 2, I to right of 9, O above E "Thick Stamping" |
1951 to 1953
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i | Material - Stainless Steel Holes - 16 3 - Flat Top Chimney - Open Flint Wheel - Diagonal Cam - Square Pad - Felt |
Z above 2, I to right of 9, O above E "Thin" Stamping |
1951 to 1953
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j | Material - Stainless Steel Holes - 16 3 - Flat Top Chimney - Open Flint Wheel - Diagonal Cam - Square Pad - Felt |
Z above 2, I between 6&9, O above D & E Note the more circular "0" in the pat Number |
1951 to 1953
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I am indebted to a number of other Zippo collectors, who have sent photographs of lighters in their personal collections to help me compile this page. For any one who has come here to try to date their Zippo, if your base stamp is not shown, then please send me a scan or a photograph. There is an email link at the top of the page. Likewise if you have a lighter with an engraved date, that does not fit in with the details above, please let me know and I'll update this page as necessary.