Historical year lookup
Historical Zippo references associated with 1947: 2 consolidated case/bottom stamp entries, 1 consolidated insert entries, and 20 individual photographic source records. Date codes, materials and insert construction should be assessed together, especially for transitional years.
Terry Lyons photo reference: chrome-plated nickel-silver case with nickel-silver insert. The photographed insert has a MODERN replacement cam spring as documented by Terry Lyons; never use this spring as evidence of a 1947 factory construction.
Case / bottom stamp · 1947
Case / bottom stamp · 1947–1948
Insert reference · 1947
Typical US regular-production chronology from independent collector research by Hardi Döhler. The ranges overlap, and Canada, Slim, Replica, Sterling, Japan-market and special editions may differ. These are supporting observations, not a definitive date determination.
The familiar recessed-bottom case profile develops in the postwar years; this alone cannot distinguish later decades.
Present-day cases, replicas and special lines can depart from the usual form.
Chrome-plated nickel-silver cases appear by late 1946 and continue through 1947; the crossover is not a strict January boundary.
Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.
Three-barrel internal hinges are widely documented from later wartime production into the 1949 changeover.
Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.
PAT. 2032695 is associated with many late-1930s through early-1950s bottom stamps, with layout variations.
Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.
Nickel-silver inserts are documented for the immediate postwar years, including Terry Lyons’s 1946–1949 specimens.
Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.
One-sided patent/instruction layout is common in several mid-century insert families; the exact layout evolved.
Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.
Fourteen-hole chimneys are characteristic of many prewar and immediate postwar inserts.
Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.
Sixteen holes and an open wheel-side chimney wall become typical from the late 1940s onward.
Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.
The arched/humped leaf cam spring is documented across several prewar and postwar decades.
The photographed 1947 Terry Lyons example has a modern replacement spring; never infer 1947 spring design from that component.
Cross-cut flint-wheel pattern becomes typical after the war, with possible overlap and replacements.
Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.
Hollow flint-wheel rivets appear through the early 1960s; later examples may carry replaced components.
Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.
Some wartime and immediate postwar examples use a long cylindrical felt/filter piece.
Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.
A plain pale rectangular felt pad is documented across many decades; replacement pads limit its dating precision.
Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.
Older wick styles can differ from the later copper-wire-interwoven wick; repairs commonly replace wicks.
Some historic wick materials may contain asbestos; avoid disturbing uncertain old material.
Interpretation: References may cover multiple years. A documented insert date is not proof of its case production date, and special Replica stamps require separate interpretation.