Zippers & Hardware

Zipper makers and materials are stamped clues: metal Talon, plastic teeth, and YKK each mark a period.

Marker / Feature	Era / Value	Research Detail
Metal Talon zipper	1930s–1970s Pre-1970	Talon dominated US zippers from the 1930s. A metal Talon zipper almost certainly places a garment before 1970.
Crown or Ideal metal zipper	1960s or earlier Pre-1970	Other metal-zipper makers; their presence generally indicates 1960s-or-earlier production.
Plastic zipper introduced	c. 1963 1960s	Plastic-tooth zippers appear around 1963 and become standard after 1968.
YKK zipper	Standard after 1968 1968 onward	YKK becomes the dominant zipper mark on later 20th-century garments.
Invisible zipper	1960s onward 1960s onward	Concealed teeth hidden by woven tape; common on dresses and skirts from the 1960s.
Auto-lock slider	Modern Modern	A slider whose pull stays in place when released — standard on modern zippers.
Lot number tag	Phased out by 1979 Pre-1980	Production 'Lot' numbers were used to track batches and were largely discontinued after 1979.

7 entries — read top to bottom, oldest first