How to Date a Zippo Lighter: Every Date Code from 1933 to 2026

Turn your Zippo upside down. Almost every Zippo made since the late 1950s carries a small code next to the logo on the bottom of the case, and that code tells you the year it was made. Since July 1986 it even tells you the month.

The code has changed style five times: dots, vertical lines, forward slashes, back slashes, Roman numerals and today’s two digits. Below you find every one of them, year by year, for regular and slim Zippos, from the first lighters of 1933 up to the code stamped in 2026.

How to read the bottom of your Zippo

1. Look at the bottom of the case, not at the insert. The insert (the part with the wick and wheel that lifts out) has its own stamp and is often replaced over the years.
2. Find the marks on either side of the logo. On older lighters these are dots or lines; on newer ones a letter on the left and a number on the right.
3. Match them to the charts below. The quick guide tells you which chart to use.

Zippo date codes 2001 to 2026: letter and two digits

Since 2001 the code is a letter on the left of the logo and two digits on the right. The digits are the year: 01 is 2001, 26 is 2026. The letter is the month.

So C 19 was made in March 2019 and J 26 in October 2026.

Roman numerals: July 1986 to 2000

On 1 July 1986 Zippo replaced the slashes with a month letter on the left and the year in Roman numerals on the right. The numerals start at II for 1986 and run to XVI for 2000, so take the numeral and add 1984. A lighter stamped F XI was made in June 1995.

Lighters from 1986 can only carry the letters G to L, because the system started in July. Some lighters from 2000 show “2000” above the XVI. In 2001 the numerals gave way to two digits.

Slashes and lines: 1966 to 1986

From 1958 to mid 1986 Zippo counted down. Each new year, one mark was taken away, first from the right side of the logo, then from the left. When a system ran out of marks, a new symbol started again at four on each side.

Back slashes (1982 to June 1986)

Forward slashes (1974 to 1981)

Vertical lines (1966 to 1973)

Dots: 1958 to 1965

The first true date codes were dots, counted down in the same way: four on each side in 1958, a single dot on the left in 1965.

Slim Zippos: one year ahead until 1966

The slim Zippo arrived in 1956. The very first ones have a flat bottom and no date code. From 1957 slims got dots too, but they started a year earlier than the regular lighters, so the same pattern means a different year. From 1966 slim and regular Zippos share the same code.

How do you know you have a slim? It is noticeably narrower than a regular Zippo, about 3 cm wide instead of about 3.8 cm.

Before date codes: 1933 to 1957

Zippo made its first lighter in early 1933, but date codes only arrived in the second half of the 1950s. For older lighters you date the bottom stamp itself: the patent wording and the style of the logo.

The periods overlap: Zippo used up existing stamps, so its own records show several bottom styles side by side between 1949 and 1957. Two more clues help:

• Black crackle, 1942 to 1945. During the Second World War Zippo made lighters only for the US armed forces, with a steel case and a black crackle paint finish. Some of these carry the misprinted patent number 203695.
• The logo. Block letters until the mid 1950s, the script logo from about 1955, and the current logo with the flame on the i from 1980.

When the bottom does not tell the whole story

• A younger insert. The insert is easily swapped and Zippo replaces it under its lifetime guarantee, so a 1960s case can hold a 1990s insert. That is normal; date the lighter by the case.
• Replicas. Zippo makes faithful replicas of its 1932 and 1941 lighters. They look old, but carry a modern date code on the bottom.
• Zippo Canada. Lighters made in Niagara Falls, Ontario, carry “Niagara Falls, Ont.” in the stamp. Before 1987 they had no date code at all.
• Painted and matte lighters. On older painted cases the code can be hidden under the coating. Since 2003 Zippo removes the paint around the stamp with a laser so the code stays visible.
• Fakes. A modern style code with a block letter logo, a code that does not exist in the charts above, or blurred shallow letters are warning signs.

Does the year make a Zippo valuable?

It can. As with most collectables, age often affects value, but age alone is not enough. Collectors pay most for the earliest lighters from the 1930s, wartime black crackle examples, early slims, the 1979 error, and lighters with a documented history, such as engraved military pieces. Old advertising Zippos are much sought after too, especially those made for cigarette brands and for big companies such as Coca-Cola, Shell and Disney. So are Zippos in precious or special metals: sterling silver, solid gold and titanium. Condition, an original insert and the original box count as much as the year. A common 1990s Zippo in used condition is a good lighter, not a rare one.

Dating works much the same for other classic lighters: the bottom of a Dunhill tells its age too, see how to date your Dunhill Rollagas. For more pieces outside the big three brands, browse our guide to other lighters.