Zippo 1968

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 brass becomes typical again in the mid-1950s; special materials and later editions are exceptions.

Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.

Later five-barrel hinges generally have an uneven barrel-width pattern. This broad clue cannot determine a precise year.

Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.

Patent numbers disappear from standard US regular-case bottom stamps around the late-1967 transition.

Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.

Chrome-plated steel construction with a seam is typical of later regular inserts, but special and premium variants differ.

Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.

Vertical inscription layouts are common across later twentieth-century inserts; compare typography and code patterns.

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 straighter, narrower leaf spring becomes typical in the late 1950s and remains in use into the 1970 transition.

Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.

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.

Solid rivets become typical from the mid-1960s onward.

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.

Red felt is documented as a less-common variant, not as a mandatory feature of every example in this interval.

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.

A consolidated cotton packing form was offered in some period inserts; this is a documented variation rather than standard for every lighter.

Typical Bradford-made regular lighter; exceptions and overlapping production runs exist.