Marlin 32 Special Id

[dchampion]

My father gave me this rifle in the 90's. I don't have a lot of information but its starting to get some surface oxidation. Would like to know its manufacture date and if it should be refurbished.

[admin]

1900
Refinishing will lower it's value (IMHO)

[marlinman93]

Marlin records only show ship dates, so on occasion the ship date can be much later than the serial number might indicate. I've got some old Marlin lever guns that shipped 2-3 years later than the serial number would suggest. So only a factory letter from the Cody Museum, or Marlin Collectors Assn. records will tell for sure.
But your rifle has already been modified so no harm doing whatever you want to now. The barrel rollstamp indicates it's been fitted with a later 36A barrel, forearm, and mag tube from just after WWII, so no collector value left anyway. Should you want to return it to a collectible firearm you could possibly locate an original 26" octagon, or half octagon barrel. But you'll need to check the records to see what the original cartridge, and configuration was, and then hope to find an original barrel to match.
Probably best to just enjoy this as a shooter, and sell it if you wanted an original 1893 Marlin.