Dates of Hamilton Movements

The Hamilton Watch Company, one of America's premiere watch manufacturers, started producing watches in 1892, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are still producing watches today, but the brand name is now owned by the Swatch Group. They last produced watches under their own original company in 1969.

Remove back of the watch [Careful to not scratch case]
Identify movement
Check chart below for years of manufacture
Interpolate to "guess" year

Movement	Serial Numbers	Year[s]
979	2900001-2931900	1934-1951
986	2100001-2191300	1922-1926
401	H50001-H57500	1930-1933
987	001-0486300	1937-1948
987E	4025301-4523000	1928-1937
987S	SS001-SS87400	1940-1948
980	G101-G669400	1934-1951
980B	A001-A8900	1937-1946
H980	HW001-HW1075	1942-1949
980I	W001-W1050	1942-1948
982	J1001-J670600	1935-1951
982M	M001-M201900	1941-1951
747	Y001-Y453800	1947-1954
748	CY001-CY232000	1948-1954
750	001A-914000A	1949-1954
752	001E-48000E	1951-1954
753	001F-103400F	1951-1954
754	001H-43900H	1952-1954

For pocket watches, here's a listing of approximate dates by serial number. To date your Hamilton watch, you can find the serial number on the movement plate.

Date.......Serial Number
1893 1-2,000
1894 5,000
1895 10,000
1896 14.000
1897 20,000
1898 30,000
1899 40,000

1900 50,000
1901 90,000
1902 150,000
1903 260,000
1904 340,000
1905 425,000
1906 590,000
1907 756,000
1908 921,000
1909 1,087,000
1910 1,050,500

1911 1,290,500
1912 1,331,000
1913 1,370,000
1914 1,410,500
1915 1,450,500
1916 1,517,000
1917 1,580,000
1918 1,650,000
1919 1,700,000
1920 1,790,000

1921 1,860,000
1922 1,900,000
1923 1,950,000
1924 2,000,000
1925 2,100,000
1926 2,200,000
1927 2,250,000
1928 2,300,000
1929 2,350,000
1930 2,400,000

1931 2,450,000
1932 2,500,000
1933 2,600,000
1934 2,700,000
1935 2,800,000
1936 2,900,000
1937 3,000,000
1938 3,200,000
1939 3,400,000

1940 3,600,000
1941 3,800,000
1942 4,025,000