Serial Numbers for 39A

[plinker Tom]

This question comes up from time to time and I'm sure the information has been already posted but could not locate it with a quick search. Was easier to cut and paste this list from my own file and as far as I know it should be correct. If I made a mistake I'm sure that someone more knowledgeable will let you know of any corrections that need to be made.

Marlin's year of manufacture for the 39A is determined from the following list of letter/numeral prefixs to the serial number:

1939 - no letter prefix
1940-1941 - B
1945 - C
1946 - c (lower case)
1947 - D
1948 - E
1949 - F
1950 - G
1951 - H
1952 - J
1953 - K
1954 - L
1955 - M
1956 - N
1957 early - P
1957l ate-1958 early - R
1958 early - 1959 - S
1960 early - T
1960 (August) - 1961 - U
1961 (August) - 1962 - V
1963 - W
1964 - Y & Z
1965 - AA
1966 - AB
1967 - AC
1968 - AD or 68
1969 - 69
1970 - 70
1971 - 71
1972 - 72

Starting in 1973, the year of manufacture maybe determined by subtracting the first two digits of the serial number from 100:

Example: SN 2512345 would have been made in 1975 [100 - 25 = 75].

Hope this helps

Tom

[guest]

Tom:

I don't see an "I" on your list but I saw a 39a with an I prefix today??

Do you know about these?

[plinker Tom]

What you thought was the letter "I" was either a 1 or some other poorly stamped alphanumeric character. During the time that Marlin used a letter(s) prefix to identify the year the rifle was made (1940 - 1968) they purposely did not use letters that could be mistaken for numbers such as I, O or Q. Hope this helps

Tom

[MarlinOwner]

Thanks Tom.

I thought I must be seeing things, and I thought that Marlin would not use an "I" for obvious reasons of mistaken identities. It might have been a "J" I suppose.

Anyway, the rifle looked like my '66 model 39a, "AB", but it had shinny varnish finished lumber and NO sling swivels. It did have the bulls eye and the end cap on the pistol grip with a white spacer.

It is a nice rifle and barely used, as attested to by it having very few bare spots on the bolt's bluing from rubbing against the receiver.

[marlinman93]

The G under the hammer has no specific meaning that I know of. The only significant letter is that in the serial number.

[marlinman93]

Guest,
I'm afraid it would be tough to give you an answer without seeing it. Even in near perfect condition, it would be tough to guess the value, as we have no way to tell if it's perfect original, or perfect restored.
Hope you understand.

[Sure-Shot]

Seeing this older post brought up brings to mind the loss of one of our own, Plinker Tom, I hope everyone when seeing one his posts will recall the loss of this fine gentleman. http://www.marlinowners.com/board/viewt ... linker+tom

[vinny_77]

I have a Marlin 39a with this stamped on the barrel:
The Marlin Firearms Co.-Model 39-A
<New Haven CONN. U.S.A - 22S.L. & L.R.>

The serial number is either E L 8803 (May 1968)

-or-

E 18803 (1982)

Do the number codes begin with a letter?

The barrel is round. It does NOT have a golden trigger.

The “L” or “1” in the serial number is hard to read.

Any help is appreciated. Thanx!

[Regnier (gunrunner)]

Vinny_77;

The serial number of your 39-A will begin with the letter "E". That indicates that your rifle was made in 1948. It will have the early, Ballard style rifling instead of the patented Micro-Groove rifling that came along later.

[Bermudaborn56]

I have a marlin 39 (no a can be seen) serial number is 3175 under the lever. Little surface rust but otherwise good condition. What can you tell me about it?.

[Regnier (gunrunner)]

Bermudaborn56;

The Marlin Model 39 was made in 3 different series from 1921 to 1939. The first series had a serial number with no letter prefix and was made between 1921 and 1925. The second series had the letter "S" as a prefix to the serial number and was made from 1925 to 1932. The last series was made from 1932 to 1939 and had a "HS" serial number prefix.
If your gun does not have a serial number prefix or the letter "S" prefix, then it is an earlier version, and you should not use modern, high speed ammunition in it. You should only use either standard velocity or target ammunition in it. The last version with the "HS" prefix are guns that were updated to use the new, high speed ammunition at the time.

[Bermudaborn56]

Thank you for the info. It just has 3175 under the lever. There is no A in it on the 39. So this must be the earlier version. Any idea on the value? I bought it about 6-8 years ago for 200 cash.

[Bermudaborn56]

Took the gun to my gun dealer and he did a search. The gun in its current condition of 60-70% is worth around 1700.+ 90%+ would be over 5k. I'm taking it Monday to a gunsmith he recommended for a refurbish.

[marlinman93]

Took the gun to my gun dealer and he did a search. The gun in its current condition of 60-70% is worth around 1700.+ 90%+ would be over 5k. I'm taking it Monday to a gunsmith he recommended for a refurbish.

Refurbish? If you're doing this because you think that will make it a $5k gun you're wasting your money. It will be worth less than the current value after you spend hundreds of dollars trying to make it look new. They're only original once, and a 60-70% original is worth far more than a restored gun. And if the restoration isn't 100% correct, it could make it a $300 gun.

[MarlinEric123]

Thank you for the info...just found out my 39A is from 1951. Was my father's....he was an avid and successful hunter.