Anyone know about Zippo lighters ?

[Peter Graham]

I was given this lighter about twenty years ago and promptly lost it. I'm in the process of moving house and during a clear out I was overjoyed to find it again. My question is, is it an original 40's lighter ? I imagine it's probably not but someone with more knowledge may be able to confirm this. I should have taken a pic of the bottom but stamped on it is -

L ZIPPO V11
BRADFORD P.A. MADE IN USA.

 

[watchmanjimg]

Pete, I don't think it's from the '40s. Looks like it was made around 1991. I assume it's some kind of commemorative model. See below:

http://www.zippoclick.com/collecting/dateCodes.aspx

I'm no expert on lighters myself, but I recently ran across a couple of old ones at an estate sale and picked them up. One was a Zippo and turned out to be from the early '50s. The number of barrels on the hinge is a giveaway to the era of manufacture. '40s examples have three, and by the '50s there were five barrels.

 

[Mac]

Peter,

I'm not an expert, but early Zippos have "Patent Pending" or a patent number stamped on the bottom of the case. L is the month of manufacture (December); VII is 1991 according to guides I've seen. Early zippos also have four "barrel" hinges, and later zips have five barrels. Early Zippos also have an open rivet attaching the strike wheel. Of course Zippo released a commemorative 1941 lighter a few years ago with these features, so it's best to go by patent numbers or date stamping.

http://www.smokerstuff.com/datingcodes.htm

 

[Mac]

Too late to the game.

Still a nice lighter with some history for you.

Cheers,

Mac

 

[Peter Graham]

Thanks for the info guys. I didn't think it was vintage. Some great info on those sites.

 

[Swing]

As a side note, Zippo and Case Knife are struggling right now. If you can afford a new knife or lighter, please buy one.

~Swing