Dating

Like most collectibles, a Zippo lighter’s value is frequently impacted by the date of manufacture. Every Zippo windproof lighter has useful information on the bottom that can be used to find the manufacturing date. Every Zippo lighter produced starting in the mid-1950s had a date code stamped on the bottom. Quality control was the initial goal. Since then, the date code has developed into a crucial resource for Zippo collectors. The majority of lighters made between 1933 and 1957 can be recognised by their model, style, and patent or patent-pending markings.

Another hint to dating is the word “Zippo” appearing in the bottom stamp. There have been three significant changes. The word Zippo was stamped in block letters from 1933 until the middle of the 1950s. Around 1955, the lighter bottom stamp began to use the Zippo script logo, which was created in the late 1940s. The logo was redesigned in the late 1970s. In 1980, it was added to the bottom stamp.