Tips & Tactics

Revealing Old Serial Numbers

Revealing Old Serial Numbers

By Gene Jones

If you are having trouble reading serial numbers on an old gun, knife or anything stamped in metal, simply take a lead pencil and lightly rub it over the numbers. The graphite will make them stand out much better, at least well enough for you to read them.

Photo: Buckmasters Tip Editor, Tim H. Martin, tested this tip on an old shotgun handed down from his great-great-grandfather. With the help of a pencil, reading glasses and a smartphone photo, Tim discovered his gun was 115 years old! 

Pencil + Photo + Glasses = Even Better!
By Buckmasters Tip Editor Tim H. Martin

When I read Gene’s tip, I decided to test it on my great-great-grandfather Martin’s rusty old 12-gauge shotgun. I’d acquired it years ago, but was never able to read the worn markings.

At first, I thought no markings remained at all, let alone any enough surviving well enough to read. Oxidation, time and generations of handling had taken its toll on the metal.

After putting on a powerful pair of reading glasses and wiping the metal with a wet finger, I was able to discern areas with faint indentions, but they were hardly readable.

So, I grabbed a pencil and gently rubbed the markings and was pleased to see some lettering coming back to life. Even with reading glasses, I still couldn’t make out the stamping, so I tried one more thing.

I took the gun outside into the sunlight and made a close-up snapshot with my cellphone. As I enlarged the photo, I was shocked at how well I could read the digits!

The serial numbers were now plainly visible, as well as the manufacturer information: HARRINGTON & RICHARDSON ARMS CO WORCESTER MASS USA PAT FEB 20 & 27 1900. How neat to learn that my great-great-grandfather’s shotgun was 115 years old!

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Copyright 2020 by Buckmasters, Ltd