Something to remember is that the Brophy book was published in 1989. The serial numbers may or may not have a letter prefix. After WW I ended and the new Marlin Firearms Corporation took over, the serial numbers were moved to back under the lever and the model designation was changed to "Marlin Mod. These guns are all marked "Model 1893"(except of course the Models 1895, '94, '92 and '97). The guns made during the war will have the letter A, B, C or D prefix, and the serial number will be located up by the forearm, such as the Marlin Firearms Company did prior to 1916. After Marlin Arms and Marlin-Rockwell took over the company in 1916, to keep employees busy between war contracts, they continued to manufacture sporting arms but utilized a new serial numbering system. They usually have a 4 digit number or a letter prefix along with the 4 digit number.
No Marlin Model '93's are known to have a 6 digit serial number. I also have a copy of his notes that pretty much confirm this information. If you will look him up and some of his posts, Parley Baer was tracking serial numbers of guns during this era. We also know that a serial number in the 442,000 range was shipped in the "fall of 1913" per the 1915 Marlin catalog because the gun mentioned in the catalog is known. We also know now that the serial numbers ran above 450,000 ( I have Brophy's notes he kept on known serial numbers ). We know that Marlin started with serial number 1 and used numbers consecutively for all models up to 355,500 in December of 1906. Second letter = Year: E-2010 F-2011 G-2012 H-2013 I-2014 J-2015 K-2016įYI: The B representing January may look more like an R, and the I representing 2014 may look more like a number 1 due to impartial stamping.It is long and complicated, but here goes. This time, look for 2 letters that decode as follows:įirst letter = Month: B-Jan L-Feb A-Mar C-Apr K-May P-Jun O-Jul W-Aug D-Sep E-Oct R-Nov X-Dec So how do you date it? I take no credit for this, only passing along what a fellow Marlin enthusiast shared on the website:Ĭheck for yet another mark on the side of the barrel near the receiver. You should see REM stamped somewhere on the barrel to confirm that it's a Remington/Marlin make. You will find other marks on the side of the barrel near the receiver to further confirm. Initial production and quality control was terrible based on the complaints I've read from disgruntled owners on other sites.
There were issues with the quality of the first few years of production using this serial number, so be wary. From my understanding, the MR serial number refers to Remlin (aka: Remington/Marlin) production, which you likely already know.
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