This page documents what we know about Gillette safety razor serial numbers and date codes. Razors made in USA often left the factory with serial numbers or date codes, which can be used to establish their manufacturing dates. During certain periods some or all models were unmarked.

1903-1929 (serial numbers)

Production Year	Serial Numbers	Models Produced			Notes
1903	n/a	Double Ring (1903-1906)			For notes on the early company history, see Gillette Timeline.
1904	1‑45424		Old Type (1904-1929, including Single Ring, Ball-End, etc.)|	Serial numbers did not begin until midway through the year, and an estimated 55,000 were produced without serial numbers.
1905	45425‑370424
1906	370425‑770424
1907	770425‑999999 A1‑A195424
1908	A195425‑A675857				Diamond logo in use on blades by September, and perhaps on some razors and sets during or after Christmas.
1909	A675858‑A999999 B1‑B222220
1910	B222221‑B697600				John J. Joyce buys out most of King Camp Gillette's stock. Gillette remains honorary president, but effectively retires.
1911	B697601‑B999999 C1‑C80508
1912	C80509‑C260238
1913	C260239‑C407806
1914	C407807‑C578360				Nickerson invents an improved automatic honing machine, allowing increased blade production.
1915	C578361‑C911806				Launch of Milady Décolleté, first women's razor.
1916	C911807‑C999999 D1‑D516474				Joyce retires to California, dies shortly afterward leaving controlling shares to John E. Aldred.
1917	D516475‑D999999 E1‑E449207	Military Sets			Aldred reorganizes Gillette as a Delaware corporation. Annual sales exceed 1.1M razors.
1918	E449208‑E999999 F1‑F999999 G1‑G999999 H1‑H999999 J1‑J7344				All J Series are WWI production. Annual sales near 5M razors in 1918. "I" was not used as a serial number prefix.
1919	J7345‑J999999 K1‑K927216
1920	K927217‑K999999 M1‑M999999 N1‑N459887				Annual sales exceed 2.1M razors in 1920. "L" was not used as a serial number prefix as it had already been used to stamp razors returned for repair.
1921	N459887‑N999999 P1‑P679777 1A‑863912A			New Improved (1921-1929, including Bostonian, Big Fellow, etc.)| "O" was not used as a serial number prefix. Original 1904 patents expire November 15, 1921. May launch of New Improved razor with new serial number format, starting with 1A. The Old Type continues as "Brownie" and various other sets, but without serial numbers. Annual sales exceed 4.2M razors.
1922	863913A‑999999A 1B‑336676B
1923	336677B‑391575B
1924	391576B‑485927B
1925	485928B‑602049B
1926	602050B‑770070B				Gillette celebrates its 25th anniversary as a company. In Germany, competitor Roth-Buechner is purchased.
1927	770071B‑902611B				From Oct 18 1927 to Aug 27 1928, there were no serial numbers used.
1928	1C‑94800C				Serial numbers resume. Nickerson retires. Gillette develops Kroman blades, and declines to purchase a new strip-based blade design offered by Henry J. Gaisman (Auto Strop).
1929	94801C‑241755C	The NEW (1929-1940?)| Auto Strop begins selling Probak razors and blades, using Gaisman's new design. The Probak reaches the market before Gillette launches the NEW in 1930.

1930-1949 (the "NDC" years)

In 1930 Gillette stopped using serial numbers on razors. So razors made from 1930-49 can be difficult to date precisely. However, blades made in those years were stamped with a date code: A for 1930, B for 1931, etc., plus 1-4 for the year quarter. So "A-1" means January-March 1930. In 1950 this system was expanded to include razors, too (see below). If a vintage razor is found with its original blades, the blade codes can be used to establish a rough date for the razor. This is not 100% accurate, since the blades may not be original or may have been made before or after the razor.

Production Year	Models Produced				Notes
1930		The NEW (1929-1940?)|		Gold plated Big Fellow intro'd as NEW Big Boy Deluxe. In this year only De Luxe models were numbered, starting with 1-D, and often the final D was omitted. Kroman blade introduced. Patent fight and merger with Auto Strop. Stock falls from over $100 to below $30.
1931	Goodwill				Henry J. Gaisman (Auto Stop) succeeds tainted management after financial scandals. Stock falls below $5. King Camp Gillette resigns as President.
1932					Blue Blade introduced. Death of King Camp Gillette on July 9, 1932
1933
1934			Gillette Aristocrat 1930s		The Aristocrat becomes the first Gillette TTO razor.
1935
1936
1937			Sheraton
1938	3 Piece Tech (1938-1979)			Senator	Thin Blade introduced. Gaisman retires, succeeded by J.P. Spang, Jr. New emphasis on sports advertising.
1939					"World Series Special" Tech.
1940			Regent Tech		Regent Tech introduced as the first closed-comb TTO.
1941		Aristocrat (1941, 1946-1951)	Ranger Tech	Milord (1941, 1946-1953)	"Cavalcade of Sports" theme introduced.
1942					War Production Board orders dedicated military production for all razors and most blades.
1943
1944					War Production Board lifts orders late in 1944.
1945
1946		Aristocrat (1941, 1946-1951)		Milord (1941, 1946-1953)	Introduction of razor end caps.
1947			40s Style Super Speed (1947-1954)
1948					Introduction of notched post.
1949					First plastic case: red/clear styrene

1950-1988 (letter codes)

The single-letter date codes are accompanied by a number, which corresponds to the quarter of the year. So 'O-1' means 1969, January-March. Date codes on blades (see above) also continued through this period.

Year	code	Models Produced						Notes
1950	V	3 Piece Tech (1938-1979)	40s Style Super Speed (1947-1954)		Aristocrat (1941, 1946-1951)	Milord (1941, 1946-1953)		Razor Date Coding Begins with V-3
1951	W			Black Tip Super Speed (1951-1952)
1952	X
1953	Y						President
1954	Z			Flare Tip Super Speed				40s Style Super Speed TV Special Z3 & Z4
1955	A		Blue Tip and Red Tip Super Speed (1955-1960)
1956	B
1957	C				Toggle (1957-1958, 1960)			Toggle Goes on sale Christmas '57
1958	D						"Fat Boy" Adjustable	50s Style Super Speed TV Special
1959	E
1960	F				Toggle (1957-1958, 1960)	195 Adjustable ("bottom dial")
1961	G				"Slim" Adjustable	Lady Gillette
1962	H
1963	I
1964	J
1965	K
1966	L		Black Handle Super Speed				The Knack (1966-75)
1967	M
1968	N			Black Handle Super Adjustable
1969	O
1970	P
1971	R							Some razors produced with Gillette code-Q. Trac II introduced.
1972	S
1973	T
1974	U
1975	V							Atra/Contour introduced. Good News disposable introduced.
1976	W
1977	X							Black Handle Adjustable gets plastic bottom plate
1978	Y
1979	Z
1980	A
1981	B
1982	C
1983	D
1984	E
1985	F							Atra Plus/ Contour Plus introduced, first lube strips.
1986	G
1987	H
1988	I							One of the last batch of USA-made DE razors.