When was my Beretta produced?

Date of manufacturing

If you wish to obtain information regarding the manufacture date of your firearm, please read this article carefully. Frequently, we receive inquiries requesting the date of manufacture of our firearms. Beretta USA maintains serial number information on firearms domestically built or imported from 1988 to present.  There are limited records that have extended as far back as the early 1980s, however, these are rare. Firearms imported by Beretta USA since 1988 can be searched by serial number to obtain the description, the approximate year of manufacture/import, as well as the schematic, parts list, owner’s manual, and additional details. Records of firearms manufactured prior to this year are sparse, and Beretta Italy has never established a searchable archive. Beretta USA was established in 1977.  Domestic builds completed in ACCK, MD without serial number data were primarily manufactured between 1977 and 1987. Some were manufactured as late as the mid-1990s. Important Note: Some firearms, including our 90 Series, were domestically manufactured in the early 1990’s.  Although rare, there may be no online data for these units. Firearms produced in Italy utilize date proof marks on the receiver/frame/barrel. From 1945-1974, these proof marks consisted of sequential Roman Numerals, ranging from one (I) to thirty (XXX).  These Roman Numerals represent the number of years that had lapsed since the final full year of WWII.  (See chart below for more information). Since 1975, these proof marks are characterized as two capital letters, encapsulated in a small box outline. For recent pistols, this mark is usually located on the frame adjacent the trigger guard.  For older pistols, the mark is on the slide or on the frame behind the grip. For shotguns, this mark is often stamped on the barrel near the chamber. Barrel removal may be required to visually inspect for this mark. Unfortunately, American models (built in Maryland or Tennessee) are void of these proof marks, as they only apply to firearms built in Italy. On older firearms produced between 1925 and 1954, the complete year was stamped in lieu of a traditional proof mark. The date can be located near the test proof marks on the frame. Notable exceptions occurred during the reign of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. The Italian Proof House utilized a Roman Numeral system marking representing in which year of his reign the firearm was manufactured.  This began with "I" in 1922. The first Beretta firearm using this dating system was the Model 1934 pistol (introduced in 1935), thus the year was indicated as XIII (usually marked on the slide) and thus referring to the 13th year of Mussolini's reign. This practice ended in 1945 with XXIII at the close of WWII, and the chart below resets the Roman Numeral marking to "I". It should be noted that some wartime production firearms were void of any marking to indicate the production date.  It is believed that this was omitted to produce as many pistols as possible for the war effort. Rarely, some Roman and numerical figures are combined, for example XX7 for 1971, XX8 for 1972 and XX9 for 1973. Beginning in 2014, Italian made firearms include an “IT” mark, followed by the last two numbers of the year it was built.  For instance, IT17 indicates 2017 manufacturing.
Common Firearm Model Inquiries:

Handguns:

1. 92S: 1978-1982, European Police Trade-In, proof mark absent.  Date range cannot be narrowed to specific year.
2. 92F: Mid-1980’s-1993, produced in conjunction with the 92FS, dropped to streamline production
3. 92FS: 1986-Present
4. 950 BS Series/Jetfire/Minx (Thumb Safety): 1968-2003, Third party importers from 1968-1977.
5. 950 B Series/Jetfire/Minx (No Thumb Safety): 1952-1967, third party import only
6. Snipe Series (Over/Under): See Roman Numeral proof mark, Discontinued 1967, Third party import only
7. 70 Series: 1958-1985, Domestic builds between 1978-1985
8. 80 Series (Cheetah): 1976-present
9. M1934: 1934-1991, Use proof marks to determine age
10. M1935: 1935-1967, Third party import only, Use proof marks to determine age
11. *21A Bobcat: 1984-Present
12. *3032 Tomcat: 1996-Present

Shotguns:

1. Silver/Golden Snipe Series: Discontinued in 1967, see barrel proof mark for exact year.  Side note: parts are no longer available for this series from any known vendors.
2. Silverhawk SxS Series: Discontinued 1967, see barrel/receiver proof mark for exact year

*: Firearm built only in the United States.

 See the chart below for additional information:

MARK	YEAR
I or 1	1945
II or 2	1946
III or 3	1947
IV or 4	1948
V or 5	1949
VI or 6	1950
VII or 7	1951
VIII or 8	1952
IX or 9	1953
X	1954
XI	1955
XII	1956
XIII	1957
XIV	1958
XV	1959
XVI	1960
XVII	1961
XVIII	1962
XIX	1963
XX	1964
XXI	1965
XXII	1966
XXIII	1967
XXIV	1968
XXV	1969
XXVI	1970
XXVII or XX7	1971
XXIII or XX8	1972
XXIX or XX9	1973
XXX	1974
AA	1975
AB	1976
AC	1977
AD	1978
AE	1979
AF	1980
AH	1981
AI	1982
AL	1983
AM	1984
AN	1985
AP	1986
AS	1987
AT	1988
AU	1989
AZ	1990
BA	1991
BB	1992
BC	1993
BD	1994
BF	1995
BH	1996
BI	1997
BL	1998
BM	1999
BN	2000
BP	2001
BS	2002
BT	2003
BU	2004
BZ	2005
CA	2006
CB	2007
CC	2008
CD	2009
CF	2010
CH	2011
CI	2012
CL	2013
CM	2014
CN	2015
CP	2016
CS	2017
CT	2018
CU	2019
CZ	2020
DA (Tentative)	2021