'To restore or not restore, that is the question.' The finish on that 100 year old pistol looks to be pretty good. I would leave it be. I once refinished a 1908 Colt (.380) that was rusty and pitted and had doubts about doing that. That said, I am pleased with the results and I think many would have a hard time discerning if it was refinished without a close inspection. I did not chase out all the pitting. Collectors want original finish.

Serial number information is not available to date this gun, as it is not known if the numbers ran consecutively with the Marlin marked models. Marlin manufactured this model from 1937 to 1958. The Model 1910 FN Browning was manufactured from 1912 through 1975. Production was halted during the two World Wars, though a few were assembled from parts during the German occupation in World War II. There was no interruption in serial numbers.

Somewhre I have a copy from a gun magazine about refinishing or restoring. A salty old Colt SAA with plenty of wear tells a certain story. A refinished or restored SAA does not have any story other than it was refinished. Sorry, I didn't look at the photo's close enough. Acronis true image enterprise server 81945 download.

This is off another site on the web and should give you an idea of the year of production. It's not exact but should help get you close. 1900-1901 10,000 FN 1900 pistols serial # 1 to 10,000 1901-1902 21,700 pistols produced 10,001 to 31,700 1902- 1903 40,000 produced serial # 31,701 to 71,700 Aug 4, 1904 serial number 100,000 1903-1907 328,300 produced serial # 71,701 to 400,000 1907-1910 275,000 produced serial # 400,001 to 675,000 1910-1914 49,550 produced serial # 675,000 to 724,550.

Now you can date your Browning firearm. The serial number found on your gun has the answer. This area will help you read that serial number.

To find your serial number, you will need to refer to your owner's manual. We have most.

While every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided on serial numbers and dates of manufacture are accurate, records on early production models such as the Auto-5 and Superposed shotguns were not included due to the complexity of numbers, models and grades offered. Also, there have been unique limited edition models that did not follow our regular serial number configurations and they are not included in this listing. To find out about your gun's serial number simply click on your firearm.

Historical Letters Available Click here to learn more about how you can add a piece of history to your Browning firearm.