Hello. I'm hoping someone can explain something to me about my rifle? It is a Model 99 EG in very good condition and the Boss Code on the lever reads "158"? According to the lists I have found it should contain a letter, not a number? Can anyone tell me about this? Does it mean it was made in 1958? The serial number 554xxx. Thank you.

I believe #'s in the 554,000 range were 1950 mfg.
The Date Code system started use in 1949 and I don't know exactly when in that yr.

Your Date Code would have to read '15B' to be a 1950 code.
A-1949
B-1950
C-1951

Look again very carefully and with a magnifier. A 'B' could certainly be misread as an '8' on those tiny markings applied on a curved surface.

The only other possibility I can think of is that there is no Date Code applied to that particular rifle, and instead the '158' is another of the Savage/Stevens inspection/inspector/QC codes they seemed to have been fond at stamping on their guns.

Just my guesses and speculation

Thank you for the reply. It could very well be a B rather than an 8 but even with a magnifying glass, it could be an R all the better I can see it. I should have studied it years ago when my eyes were better!

The date code on Savages (not just 99's) runs through the end of the alphabet then stops, starting with A in 1949 as Kutter said. The letters O and Q were skipped for obvious reasons.

I'd be satisfied it was a B!
An R would make it a 1964 production code and that's way too late for the ser#.
That 554,xxx range falls perfectly in 1950,,the 'B' code.

Many of the date code stampings also included a single or double digit number and that was an ID# of the individual inspector.

Nice rifles.