Studio Krypton.com

    Full anatomy:

Full anatomy thanks to phdmatt2002 all rights reserved

THE ENTIRE HARLEY DAVIDSON COLLECTION .

Download and enjoy the collection.

THE ENTIRE ZIPPO COLLECTION

Download and enjoy the Tradition.

Hey and welcome to my special corner of the site. So, you are fascinated by your lighter and want to know more about it? Sure, you can do tricks with it or put it in your pocket, but there's also the collectible of your lighter to consider. Well that's what I am here for. If you got questions about your lighter feel free to e-mail me. Be sure to include a picture of your lighter and as much information about it as possible and I will do my best to research your lighter. A selection of your questions along with my answers will be published here. You might even want to know if your lighter is real or fake.Whether you are a keen collector interested in a second opinion or a newbie that stumbled upon a piece and want to know if it's worth anything, I can help you appraise it. In order to help you out you need to provide me with as much information about the lighter you want appraised as possible. I will also need pictures, or descriptions of the front artwork and the dating information on the bottom of the lighter. Send me an E-mail!
The Saint

Terms & basic insight
What determines the worth of the lighter? Learn some of the basic terms and phrases involved when determining the worth of a lighter!
Terms to describe the condition of the lighter
Mint: the lighters is never used and in perfect condition without any scratches and with all the original stickers and in the original box.
Half mint: Never used without the stickers and with or without the box.
Used: the lighter is used but still looks good with minor scratches.
Heavily used: The lighter is full of scratches and without the box.
Of course Mint lighters are worth the most. Also the age of the lighter is important. Check the Read Your Lighter section if you want to find out how old your lighter is.
Misc.
Limited editions are worth a lot, same with rare lighters. We determine 3 main categories of lighters:
- American
- Canadian
- Japanese

Canadian ones are getting rare because the factory closed down in 2002.
Japanese ones are different because of their details, attached flint dispensers etc.

You can always check http://www.ebay.com if you want to see what others are bidding on a lighter just like yours or if you want to find a lighter you saw on here for yourself.

How to spot a fake?
Basically we divide the non-authentic Zippo lighters into two different categories: Fakes and lookalikes . A lookalike is quite easy to spot. Although the design might look identical to an authentic Zippo at first glance, the lighter is not called a "Zippo". There are numerous variants out there; Zippu, Zipo, Oppiz, Champ, Zeppo, Zuppo, Star ++ Although they all might look like real Zippos you can be pretty sure they all suffer from significantly poorer quality than an authentic.

A fake on the other hand is far more difficult to identify since the lighter is passed on as an authentic baring the Zippo name and comes in a "official" Zippo box with identical stickers and even dating inscriptions on the bottom of the case. That said, if you know what to look for, spotting a fake should rarely be a problem.

How to spot a fake?

                                      

a) Overall cheaper material. When compared with an authentic the Rippo will most likely weigh less. b) The cutout in the lid to fit the hinges are too big leaving an empty gap of space. c) The joints in the hinges are often smaller than on the original. d) The flint wheel rivet has wrong color - rusty red - due to use of copper material. e) The cam rivet has wrong color - rusty red - due to use of copper. f) It's either rusty red (copper), or too shiny. g) The screw attached to the flint spring is too small. h) If the flint is red, it's a fake. i) The impression on the bottom of counterfeit lighter is more shallow and often with an incorrect code. On some fakes it says: "Bradford RA, instead of PA. j) The felt pad is of poor quality and lack the refill hole (on current models). The felt pad lack the imprinted "lift to refill".

Let your ears be the judge
Common for all fake Zippos are the use of cheaper materials. This affects the unmistakeable sound of the Zippo. To spot a fake compare the sound of a potential fake with an authentic when opening the lid. Check out the difference on these two sound clips:

The sound of a Zippo:
The sound of a Rippo:

If you are intersted in Vietnam era lighters be sure to read my Vietnam guide click on the image.

FAQ's:

There are over 4 million Zippo lighter collectors from all over the world.        An average of 800 Zippo lighters are auctioned online every day.            The highest amount paid for a Zippo lighter was $18,000. The 1933 model was purchased at the 2002 Tokyo Swap meet.

Read your Zippo
I have heard many stories about what those marks on the bottom of the Zippo lighter means. Some people say it's the windforce your lighter can stand. Others claim it has no meaning at all. I have even heard a story about people making Zippo lighters in jail and that the stripes were signs of how many years they had left to do. I can tell you this: that's all a bunch of crap! The markings stand for the date of production and in some case the place of the factory. That's right, there used to be 2 factories but one closed down in 2002. So if you have a Zippo with Niagara falls in the bottom stamp it doesn't mean it is fake.

   
                                     
The Zippo Canada Bottom Stamp,with its          
distinctive Niagara Falls,Ontario designation.
(closed in july 2002)


The Zippo USA Bottom Stamp,
with its Bradford PA
Made in USA designation.


Since the late 50's, the bottom of every Zippo lighter has featured a series symbols which serve as code marks. When matched to the manufacturer's coding chart, you can determine what year the lighters were produced.

Zippo regular and slim lighter identification codes:

(I personally composed this chart if you want to use it for your website please ask permission)

Zippo records indicate an overlap of bottom stamps configurations from 1949-1957. Also, some lighters produced between 1955-57 were date coded; however, specifics remain unclear.

In 1979 an error was made in te date code. One of the slash marks was removed from the left of the Zippo trademark.Instead of being removed from the right: so the code read: / ZIPPO // .This date code error was corrected within the same year to read: // ZIPPO /.

Effective July 1, 1986 the dot and slash system was replaced by year/ month code. Year is noted with Roman numeral: letter designates month (A=January, B=February,etc). Some bottom stamps vary like 1992 60th anniversary lighters, some lighter like solid titanium or armoured case have a adjusted bottom stamp.

Beginning in 2001, the Roman numerals indicating the year were replaced with numbers corresponding to the last digits of the year of manufactering. In 2000 the allready started by putting 2000 above the roman numeral.

BOTTOM STYLES
As the style of Zippo lighters has changed over the years, so has the design of the Zippo logo that is engraved on the bottom of each lighter.

Since the late 50's, the bottom of every Zippo lighter has featured a series of dots and slashes which serve as code marks. When matched to the manufacturer's coding chart above, you can determine what year the lighters were produced. Here are representative samples.

1932:   1953:  

1936:   1958:

1943:   1980:

1946:   1986:

The appearance of the word ZIPPO in the bottom stamp provides another clue to dating. There have been three major changes, as shown above 1933 till mid 50's the word ZIPPO was stamped in block letters. The Zippo script logo was developped in the late 40's and was phased in on the lighter bottom stamp around 1955. In the late 70's the logo was redesigned. It was incorporated into the bottom stamp in 1980. It's still used today.

MPL Date Code's:

The Zippo MPL (multi purpose lighter) was first produced in February of 2002.The MPL's manufactured in late February and March 2002 had a blank adjustment knob. The first MPL's to have a date code were those produced in April 2002 and thereafter.

Zippo
Multi-Purpose Lighter

Left Side  Right Side 

The date codes are simular to the ones on the regular and slim lighters A to L for the Month and two numbers for the year 02 for example is 2002, so the above image shows a MPL from April 2002.

In 2004 zippo recalled a couple of MPL's the following messages got send around the internet: Consumers who own the Zippo MPL (Multi-Purpose Lighter) with date codes G03, H03, I03, ZH03 should immediately stop using this product and remove the black adjuster knob with the date code. Pull the knob straight downward with your fingers or use pliers to remove the knob. Keep the knob to be returned to Zippo Manufacturing Company. Consumers should dispose of the lighter in a manner that is in compliance with state or local requirements. Do not incinerate or puncture the lighter. Do not return this lighter to the store where purchased or to Zippo. If you own an MPL like this you could go here: www.zippomplrecall.com

Limited editions:

There are a lot of different limited edition Zippo lighters, some of them are numbered, some of them like the Collectables Of The Year are not. The collectables of the year got produced from 1992 till 2002. The numbered limited edtions most of the time got an engraved number like no.522 of 1000 or 50/50 this number most of the times is engraved it can be found on the cap, on the back of the lighter or on the side of top.

Example of a limited edition NL 450 of 1000

Mazzi numbering proces:

Mazzi's Zippos are divided into three categories: One of a kind, Limited series and Open series. The numbers can be found on the side of the lighter together with a signature of Claudio Mazzi. Every lighter comes with a certificate of authenticity showing the title of the painting, the year of production and the series number.

One of a kind - Unique pieces that will never be reproduced.

Limited series - These range from a minimum of 3 pieces to a maximum of 50 pieces. This example is the 12th lighter painted out of a total of 38 of the same subject.

Open series - Mazzi paints an unlimited number of these for example Zippo Club Italia lighters.

That should cover most of it. If you got any questions about a lighter you own, take a picture and I will be glad to help you out to find information about it.

FAQ's:

The Black crackle patent# got stamped by accident it should have been 2032695       People think Zippo lighters are manufactered by prisoners. The roman numerals indicate the length of their time. BS!            The codes are date codes indicating when the lighter got manufactered