Charting which years any particular Coleman® lantern was made is a never-ending process. The company began marking lanterns with date information in the mid-1920s. To learn how they have been marked over the years, please refer to our How-to section on dating appliances.

When did Coleman start making lanterns?

1914 The Coleman Lantern is a line of pressure lamps first introduced by the Coleman Company in 1914. This led to a series of lamps that were originally made to burn kerosene or gasoline. Current models use kerosene, gasoline, Coleman fuel (white gas) or propane and use one or two mantles to produce an intense white light.