SN's were not required until 1968
SOME guns had serial numbers in the late 1800s. They were required by law on handguns and machine guns in 1934 (in the US) and on rifles and shotguns in 1968.
It began in the 1800s. In 1934, US law required SNs on all handguns and machineguns. In 1968 law required them on rifles and shotguns. Prior to 1968, some long guns had serial numbers, some did not.
Firearms don't have registration numbers, they have serial numbers. No way to know who was the first to put a number on a firearm. Military firearms have had serial numbers for many years, to aid in the accounting for large numbers of identical guns. Serial numbers were not required by law in the US until the 1934 National Firearms Act reqired them on machine guns and handguns. The 1968 Gun Control Act required them on newly made rifles and shotguns.
The serial numbers on hardware and most software products are not tied to a particular person or group. Some products in other areas, like guns, are required to be associated with a person.
To identify and account for otherwise identical guns.
Serial numbers on long guns were not required in the US until 1968, so many manufacturers did not assign them to shotguns and small-caliber rifles.
Serial numbers on guns became law in the United States with the passage of the Federal Firearms Act of 1938. This legislation required firearms manufacturers and dealers to identify firearms and maintain records of their sales and transfers, including assigning unique serial numbers to each gun produced.
None of the existing ORIGINAL guns have serial numbers.
Serial numbers on rifles and shotguns were not required until 1968. Most JC Higgins guns made prior to that never HAD a serial number- and yes, it is legal.
1968
There is none. They were made before serial numbers were required on guns. Also, American gun makers generally do not stamp a proof mark on their guns.