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Amt Pistol Serial Numbers Explained
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Amt Pistol Serial Numbers Lookup

A 1998 book by James Spacek titled Hi-Standard Pistols Revolvers 1951 1984 revealed that several thousand A prefix serial numbers were reserved in High Standards books for assignment of Auto Mag serial numbers. AMT AutoMag AMT (Arcadia Machine and Tool) manufactured several firearms under the AutoMag name, not the Auto Mag name, including the. Serial Number Lookup Enter your Ruger® serial number above to view its model number, product line, caliber, production status, ship date and instruction manual. Note: This service is provided as reference only, and accuracy is not guaranteed. ULTRA RARE is this AMT semiautomatic pistol chambered in 50 Action Express (50 AE). Approximately 2000 of these weapons were produced, and this pistol has serial number 1993.

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Serial Numbers

SERIAL NUMBERS OFTEN ALLOW YOU TO DETERMINE YEAR OF MANUFACTURE

Knowing the year your vintage firearm was made makes it easier to decide which gun catalog we sell will give you the best information about the company, models made and more. To help you determine the year made, find your serial number and then select a link from those below to sites that offer serial dates.

The Blue Book of Used Gun Values offers serial numbers for the following makers:

AYA, Boss & Co., Ltd, Browning, EJ Churchill, Colt, Colt Black Powder 2nd Gen, John Dickson & Son, AH Fox, German early Date Codes, German Modern Date Codes, Stephen Grant, WW Greener, Harrington & Richardson, High Standard, Holland & Holland, Italian Year of Mfg. Date Codes, Ithaca Gun Co., Charles Lancaster, Joseph Lang, Marlin Firearms, Mauser Broomhandles, Parker Brothers Shotguns, Piotti, James Purdey, Remington Date Code & SxS Shotguns, Savage/Stevens, LC Smith, Smith & Wesson, Spanish Year of Mfg. Date Codes, Sturm, Ruger & Co., Winchester Rifles, Winchester Rifle & Shotgun 1969+, Winchester Shotguns.

Other websites that may help (Information from websites other than the manufacturer website should be examined with some skepticism):

High Standard Pistols Serial Ranges 1932-1942
Ithaca Guns - Baker, Crass, Lewis, Manier, Magnum, Pre-WWII choke marks, Lefever Singles, Flues, Knick, Lefever Grade A, NID, Western Long Range
Ithaca Guns Serial Numbers and Date of Manufacture
(containing serial information about: Baker DB Shotguns, Crass DB Shotguns, Lewis DB Shotguns, Manier DB Shotguns, Flues SB and DB Shotguns, NID DB Shotguns, Knick SB Trap Guns, LeFever Nitro Special DB Shotguns, LeFever 'A' Grade, Western Long Range DB Shotguns, Model 37 Standard Model Shotguns, Model 37 Solid Rib Shotguns, Model 37 All Grade Guns.
Lancaster, Charles (London) 1826-1901
Lefever Sideloack Shotguns 1913 & Later (not serial numbers)
Lefever Sideloack Shotguns before 1913 (not serial numbers)
Mossberg did not put serial numbers on most long guns until 1968 (GCA 1968 required them)
Remington - Navy Single Shot Pistols, Model 8, 81, 24, 241, RB Pistols (Types- not serial), RB Rifles- 1870, 71, RB Rifle Models- 1866-1933, Contract Lee Rifles, Pistols and Revolvers 1857-1918 (incomplete serial number for some), Rifles 1866-1933 (ditto), Shotguns 1874-1910 Serial numbers unknown.
Smith & Wesson - Single Action Pistols, First Model .22, Second Model .22, New Departure Safety Hammerless, Ladysmith 1902-1911+
Springfield Model 1873 and 1884 Rifles, Model 1873 Shotgun, Model 1903 Rifle, 1903A3 by Smith Corona Co.
Stevens (description, illustration and years made)- Stevens did not put serial numbers on all long guns until 1968 (GCA 1968 Required them)

Is It Original?

June 2001

By Bruce Stark

No one wants to be taken advantage of. As a buyer or a seller, most of us have made our share of mistakes. One mistake is to buy or sell an item that we do not have an intimate knowledge of. In some cases we may rely on the knowledge of the other party to help us establish a fair price. Sometimes we later discover that we have been cheated out of a valuable item or into an item that is not worth what we thought it was. Knowledge is power.

How do you respond to a customer who has just said, “It’s too bad that your Lee Jurras gun is not an original Auto Mag”?

The word “original” has many different meanings. When this word is thrown around during the bargaining process, as in the example above, the buyer might be trying to get an upper hand through the implication that what you have is un-original. It then logically follows that your gun could be a copy, after-market, reproduction, or even a fake. In any case, you are now put on the defensive.

What do you say to the seller who proclaims that his Pasadena Auto Mag is original, and not one of those later made copies you see out there?

If the definition of “original” is taken to mean the first, then only the Pasadena guns could be considered to be original Auto Mags. Literally speaking, only the number one prototype gun could qualify as the first. Ironically this particular gun was not made of stainless steel and may not fit the definition of an Auto Mag.

Obviously an “original” Auto Mag would be a gun you would want as a sound investment, and a gun that would command the highest price. Let’s review the facts.

Auto Mags were made from 1971 until the year 2000 using one of eleven different names on the receiver.

1. AM, Pasadena, California
2. TDE, North Hollywood, California
3. TDE, El Monte, California
4. TDE, El Monte, California, High Standard
5. TDE, El Monte, California, Lee Jurras
6. TDE, El Monte, California, Kent Lomont
7. TDE / OMC, El Monte, California
8. AMT, Covina, California
9. AMC, Covina, California
10. AM, Irwindale, California
11. AM, Sturgis, South Dakota

The first nine names were manufactured under the direction, or with the authorization of the inventor, Harry Sanford. The guns using the last two names were manufactured under license of Harry’s widow and son, Nadine and Walt Sanford.

All of the above guns are original Auto Mags. “Original” here is defined as authentic. After all, isn’t that what a seller and a buyer need to know before a fair sale can take place? If all of these guns are authentic, then what are the guns that some have called fakes and why are some collectors still gun shy about Auto Mags as investments?

GUNS AND PARTS THAT HAVE BEEN QUESTIONED

The following examples are listed in chronological order.

The prototype, experimental, engraved and .45ACP Auto Mags are well documented in the author’s book Auto Mag: The Pasadena Days. These are not guns that collectors will readily encounter.

1. Barrels made to deceive – Pasadena

For all intents and purposes, only 6.5″ .44AMP barrels were made during the Pasadena production run of Auto Mags. From time to time, barrels in different calibers and lengths have been found to have Pasadena markings. These are later made barrels that the guys in the back room marked for a buddy or a cash-wielding customer. The only reason to mismark a barrel is so it can be sold for more than it would otherwise.

2. Custom Barrels – Barbasiewicz

The North Hollywood guns were the next production run of Auto Mags. B & B Sales in North Hollywood, California distributed these El Monte manufactured guns. Bob Barbasiewicz was Harry’s production manager and head of engineering at the time. He was one of three employees that Harry retained from the Pasadena factory. Bob had lost his own personal mill to the Pasadena bankruptcy auction, and perhaps because of this Harry allowed him to produce his own line of custom barrels. Bob sold these unmarked, highly polished barrels through B & B Sales. The lack of markings was probably due to the fact that, for warranty reasons, the owner of TDE, James C. Thomas III, did not want his company’s name on Bobs’ barrels. These barrels used Pasadena receivers (barrel extensions), accelerators and rear sight assemblies.

Amt Pistol Serial Numbers