Dating Zippos
1933 - 1946
This page is a general guide to the earliest Zippo lighters. During the early years of the company many minor alterations and test models were made. Due to the scarcity of these lighters it is not possible to document all models/variations here
The first lighters made by Zippo were much squarer than those seen today as originally the lighter cases were made from tubing with the base soldered on. They were also taller than the current models. All early lighters had either a flat (1933-1941) or a round (1942-1946) bottom. The "Canned bottom" (where the base of the lighter is indented) first appeared in 1946
1933-1936 | Note the "Pat Pending" Logo | |||
1936-1937 | After the patent was granted the patent number was shown on the base of the lighter | |||
The lighters above were made from a rectangular tube, with the bases soldered on. Early Zippo lighters command a high price and are difficult to obtain. Building a collection of these would therefore take a considerable amount of both time and money. Like lighters from other years, there are significant variations in the manufacturing process that can help determine the exact year of production. Unfortunately I do not have the time or the money to build up a collection that will allow me to make the comparisons seen on the rest of the dating pages. There is however a Japanese collector, who like me, loves attention to detail, and has produced an excellent descriptive work on lighters from this era the English version of which is here
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1937-1941 | Around 1937 the lighter became more rounded, as the case was made from a single metal sheet, which ended the need to solder on the base | |||
When America entered the Second World War, many materials were restricted to military use. Both Brass and Chrome became scarce and Zippo had to use other materials. The obvious choice was Steel, but this presents two problems. Firstly, it is porous and secondly it is susceptible to rust. In order to overcome this it was decided to paint the lighter bodies with a coating of black paint. The finished body was then baked which causes the paint to "crackle" These lighters became known as Black Crackles. These lighters have either a flat or a rounded out bottom and are still stamped with the Zippo logo, although this is not visible unless the paint has worn off. Some lighters in this period were incorrectly stamped with the patent number #203695, the second 2 being missed out in error. Because of wear it is often difficult to see which number is stamped, so the # symbol before the patent number is sometimes the only way to tell. There are also a number of lighters where the lighter is stamped on both the top and the bottom and I have heard reports of lighters with the correct patent number on one end and the wrong patent number on the other. The 1942 lighters will have a 4 barrel hinge. In 1943 this was altered to a 3 barrel with the centre barrel being longer than the two outer barrels.
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1942-1946 | This lighter has the original paint intact. It may be possible to see the word "Zippo" through the paint, but other details will not be clear. |
1942 Hinge |
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1942-1946 | This lighter has all the paint worn off and the bottom stamp is clearly visible. |
1943 to 1947 Hinge |
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1942-1946 | The wear on these lighters can often make it difficult to fully read the bottom stamp |
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Some lighters in this period had an incorrect patent number. The bottom line reads PAT. #203695. Note the use of the # symbol |
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Inserts 1933 to 1946
The earliest inserts had no markings and again there were various modifications over the early years, the most comprehensive description of which can be found here.
The earliest lighters has 16 holes in the chimney, but this was reduced to 14 around 1936/1937
Throughout the time span in this section the pads at the bottom of the insert could be made from a variety of materials.
Material - Chrome over Brass Holes - 16 No Markings Chimney - Closed Flint Wheel - Horizontal Cam - Square Pad - None |
1934 to 1936 |
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Material - Chrome over Brass Holes - 14 No Markings Chimney - Closed Flint Wheel - Horizontal Cam - Square Pad - None |
1937 to 1942 |
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Material - Steel Holes - 14 No Markings Chimney - Closed Flint Wheel - Horizontal Cam - Rounded Pad - None |
1942 | |||
Material - Steel Holes - 14 3 - Flat Top Chimney - Closed Flint Wheel - Horizontal Cam - Rounded Pad - Cigarette Filter |
1943 to 1946 |
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Material - Nickel Silver Holes - 14 3 - Flat Top Chimney - Closed Flint Wheel - Horizontal Cam - Rounded Pad - Felt |
1946
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