Inspired by this thread. How old is your Zippo? That is:
[ul][li]How old is the oldest Zippo lighter you personally bought new, or was given to you new?[/li][li]How old is the oldest Zippo that you got used?[/ul][/li]My first Zippo was polished steel. I bought it in the early-'80s, perhaps 1981 or 1982. I lost it, so it doesn’t count since I no longer have it.
My oldest personally-bought Zippo is brush-finished stainless steel. According to the codes, it was made in 1986. I replaced my polished Zippo in 1989.
I have two of dad’s Zippos. One of them, with the 7th Fleet badge, is in a shadowbox display in his sea chest so I can’t check the date on it; but I don’t think it’s as old as the other one. That one, with USS Belle Grove on it dates from early-1960.
My oldest was given to me by a girlfriend in about 1975. Still works well. I think my favorite next to it is the one I got in Milwakee in 1993 at the Harley Davidson 90th anniversary Reunion. It has the logo from that event as a raised medal on the front with a nice display tin.
Correction: Dad’s Zippo’s date should be ‘1960’, not 'early-1960.
I also have a black Zippo that I bought new, but I can’t read the date code because of the paint. I also have a grey one with a Hate Comics character on it that Rilchiam pointed out to me on eBay a few years ago. It appears to be marked K-X, which would make it 1994. Both the Hate and the black lighters are still in their original boxes.
Checking the bottom of mine, I note with some concern that it’s marked “H 01”, whereas from the posted site it should be marked “H XVII”. Is it a fake? I got it from a reputable (or so I thought) tobacconist, not a market stall or anything like that.
It’s not an expensive model, just plain brass, but I’ll be rather disappointed if it’s not the real thing.
The first link says it’s more accurate than the Zippo Collector’s Guide. I don’t know if the latter link is the one to which it refers. Being an ‘accumulator’ rather than a ‘collector’, I don’t know which is right. But if you bought it from a reputable dealer, I would assume it’s genuine.
My oldest is probably one that my Mother passed along to me. It would be from the 50s or so. I don’t have it handy since it’s been put away somewhere, or else I’d check its date code. I have a few like that (old but packed away). I know I do have the 1992 Commemorative somewhere, so that date is easy.
The one I always have with me, in a pouch on my belt, dates from about 1995. It was a gift from a family member. It has a plain dark blue finish that is wearing off and showing the brass underneath. I use it for lighting my pipe, and while I don’t smoke my pipe every day, I somehow just don’t feel fully dressed unless I have my Zippo in its pouch on my belt. I’ve carried a Zippo (not always the same one; I’ve lost at least one) that way for at least 15 years now. Before that, it was in my pocket–and I well remember the rash I’d get on my leg when the fluid leaked out.
I have a black one that dates from around 1975 or so. It sits in my bugout pack, along with spare flints and a can of fluid. I had a brushed steel one sometime in the 70s, but it vanished somewhere along the way.
To all who’ve lost Zippos over the years, worry not; they’re in good hands. Mine.
I have never bought a Zippo or had one bestowed upon me as a gift, and yet right here in my junk drawer I have three. And there are others hiding about the apartment as well.
I have an internal Zippo magnet or something because they just gravitate to me. I once found one in the back seat of my car weeks after the last passenger had sat back there, and when I tried to return it they said it wasn’t theirs.
Not a one of them has any fluid in them, and most of them need new flints also.
Looks like they’re all from the 90’s too.
So, if your Zippo is less than 20 years old and running out of fluid and it disappears… I’d be happy to mail it back to you once it finds its way here.
I have 3, all of them have been gifts. What can I say, I’m a lucky guy.
1996 Harley Davidson (Limited Edition). The beautiful finish it came with is all but a memory. I swear this Zippo is lucky insofar is that it’s the equivalent of a homing pigeon. Ive left it behind in friends’ cars, houses, the office, restaurants, bars, clubs, misplaced it at home, and somehow it always comes back. It’s been dropped countless times, and the shield popped off, but a little subber solution fixed that little hiccup.
1999 Mercedes Benz Zippo - this one. A gift from my best friend on my 21st birthday.
