VelocitusSonicus
Member
Got this SW series socket in a bulk deal today. Looks 40's to me, date code is clearly an F though, no chance of a mistrike of an E. Any insight? Google gave no answers.
Snap On F Date Code?
- Thread starter VelocitusSonicus
- Start date
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Yes. 1944 was a leap year and, therefore, it had 366 days instead of 365. (As you probably know, this is done because one year doesn't actually include 365 days, it includes 365 and a 1/4 days. Adding one day to the year every four years re-synchronizes the calendar year with the astronomical year.) Your 15/16" 1/2-drive socket was made on that extra so-called leap day. Not 1944 ("E"), but not quite 1945 ("G"), either. Snap-on, in its infinite wisdom, practical precision, and warranty wariness, went with an "F" (falling between "E" and "G") on that extra day. Rare find. Not too many around. Congrats!
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Yes, I'm just f^&*ing with you. 
We have all seen some weird mis-stamps, overstrikes, hard-to-decipher codes, etc, but I have never seen an "F" before. And the "E" was nominally sans serif, anyway. That sucker has some pronounced serifs. Definitely odd. Especially because it is in a typical placement area for a date code and they were not in the habit of any other kinds of codes, especially in the 40's. Almost makes me want to say something was wrong with the die stamp that hour (day, etc) and they just improvised.
If you don't get too much response here, you may want to try asking on the dedicated 'Snap-on' thread. People who are only Watching their favorite threads and who don't scan the forum for new threads will see it there. You can find it very easily in the A-Z Index of Threads in the Sticky at the top of the forum titled READ B4 POSTING!
We have all seen some weird mis-stamps, overstrikes, hard-to-decipher codes, etc, but I have never seen an "F" before. And the "E" was nominally sans serif, anyway. That sucker has some pronounced serifs. Definitely odd. Especially because it is in a typical placement area for a date code and they were not in the habit of any other kinds of codes, especially in the 40's. Almost makes me want to say something was wrong with the die stamp that hour (day, etc) and they just improvised.
If you don't get too much response here, you may want to try asking on the dedicated 'Snap-on' thread. People who are only Watching their favorite threads and who don't scan the forum for new threads will see it there. You can find it very easily in the A-Z Index of Threads in the Sticky at the top of the forum titled READ B4 POSTING!
d42jeep
Well-known member
During the WW2 period, it seems like the date codes were hand stamped, often carelessly. Since yours is the only “F” example that has been seen, it’s probably as simple as the wrong punch being used accidentally, although I like the idea that it could have been done late on New Year’s Eve. 
-Don
-Don