Proof Marks and Identification

Understanding Firearms
Markings
1880-1945

Ian McCollum
www.ForgottenWeapons.com
[email protected]

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 Types of Markings

 Date(s)  Patent marking

 Country of origin  Model name/number
 Manufacturer name  Brand name
 Serial number(s)  Military acceptance
 Proof mark(s)  Refurbish mark
 Unit number  Conversion marking
 Import marking  Caliber

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Where was this rifle made?

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France – the markings translate to:
Ordnance
Factory
Chatellerault

Chatellerault was a major French state arsenal

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Two More

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 What is the point of showing these examples?

Context is essential!

Always consider the whole gun to understand what

you are looking at.

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 Proof Marks

What is a proof mark?

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Why Proof Marks?

(in no particular order)

 Public safety
 Industry reputation
 Government oversight

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 Proof Loads

 Typically 25% - 30% overpressure

 Either one or two rounds

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 Proof Marks - England

 The modern British proof law was passed in 1868,

with an official nitro proof added in 1904 and a
general update in 1925.
 British law did not automatically recognize foreign
proofs, so many arms imported into England had to
be re-proofed.
 Up to WWII, pressure was measured in tons.

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 Proof Marks - England

Birmingham proof mark used prior to 1904:

Indicates black powder proof unless accompanied by

the words “Nitro Proofed”

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 Proof Marks - England

Standard proof marks, 1925-1954:

Birmingham London
Final proof

View proof

Nitro proof

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 Proof Marks - England

Standard nitro proof marks, post-1954:

Birmingham

London (on action)

(on barrel)
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 Proof Marks - England

When on foreign-made guns, the proof marks were

enclosed in a circle, and accompanied by the mark
“NOT ENGLISH MADE”:

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 Proof Marks - England

In addition to everything else, a special mark was used

to date the proofing.
From 1922/23 to 1940/41, this mark was used:
A=21/22, B=22/23, C=23/24, etc.
I and Q not used.

From 1950 to 1974, it was this one:

A=1951, B=1952, C=1953, etc.
I not used (but Q was).

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 Proof Marks - England

Lee-Enfield No.5 rifle, rebarreled in 1974

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 Proof Marks - Belgium

 Royal decree in 1672 required proof testing and

marking of barrels
 Belgian national proof house established in Liege
 In 1888, a new law forbade the sale or display of
unproofed firearms
 In 1891, proof testing standards for smokeless
powder were introduced

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 Proof Marks - Belgium

 Crown over R – Black powder proof

of a barrel (also appears on smokeless
barrels).
 “Perron” - Indicates fit and function of
slides, locking mechanisms. Used from 1903
to 1924 (not on revolvers).
 Rampant Lion “PV” - used 1898 - 1924 for
smokeless barrel proof. After 1924, it replaced
the Perron mark entirely.
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 Proof Marks - Belgium

 EPV (Epreuve de Liege) with crown – final

overall proof mark after 1893
 Plain EPV – final overall proof from
1853-1893 (used on muzzleloaders after 1893)
 Star over letter – Individual inspector's
marking, 1877 to present. From 1853 to
1877, a crown replaced the star.

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 Proof Marks - Belgium

Black powder, post-1893

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 Proof Marks - Germany

 The modern German proof mark law took effect in

1893, and remained definitive until 1939.
 In 1939, the proof marking symbol was changed
form an imperial crown to a Nazi eagle.
 The well-known Waffenamt Nazi symbol was
actually a military acceptance mark, and not a proof
mark.

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 Proof Marks - Germany

1891 – 1939 proof marks:

Nitro Black powder Choked bore

Final proof Rifled bore Smooth bore

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 Proof Marks - Germany

Weapons manufactured prior to the proof law taking

effect (1893) were required grandfathered, but had
to be marked (this did not constitute an actual
proofing).

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 Proof Marks - Germany

In 1939, the crown was replaced by an eagle, and the

typical 3-proof combination (B, U, and G) was
replaced by a single eagle/N mark.

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 Proof Marks - Germany

Typical commercial Mauser rifle

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 Proof Marks - Italy

Italian replica cowboy pistols are probably the most

likely place to find black powder proofs today.

Italy has a nice simple set of proof marks, but a rather

strange date code system.

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 Proof Marks - Italy

The proof marks:

 Black powder proof  Brescia provisional

proof
 Smokeless proof

 Gardone provisional
 Final definitive proof
proof
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Proof Marks - Italy

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 Proof Marks - Italy

Proof marks on an Uberti 1858 Remington copy:

Proofs will also be found on barrel and cylinder.

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 Proof Marks - Spain

 Eibar proof house established in 1844, proofing

made mandatory in 1923.
 Typically appear as a set of 3 markings:

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 Proof Marks - Spain

 First mark is the actual final proof – gun is good

Early (1923-1928) Late (1928+)

 Second is the date Until 1927/28, a “P.V.”

A – 1927 was used instead of
B – 1928 the date
C – 1929...
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 Proof Marks - Spain

 Third mark is an admission to the proof house:

Early (until mid 1931) Late (mid 1931 – now)

(The King fled in 1931, and the crown went with him)

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 Proof Marks - Spain

With this in mind, we can interpret this typical Spanish

set of markings:

Gun was accepted and proofed in 1945

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 Other Markings

 Date (of manufacture or refurbish)

 Model name/number
 Manufacturer name
 Import marks
 Serial number(s)
 Caliber
 Military acceptance

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 Date(s)

Dates marked on a firearm can mean several different

things:
 Date of manufacture
 Date the gun was refurbished
 Date the model was adopted for military use
 Date the design was patented

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 Date of Manufacture

Dates can take several forms -

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Manufacture Date

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 Refurbish Date

Sometimes a firearm is marked with the date of a

major repair or conversion:

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Refurbish Date

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Refurbish Date

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 Adoption Date

Model dates are usually more obvious...

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 Adoption Date

...but not always.

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 Model Name/Number

Probably the most unambiguous type of marking...

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 Model Name/Number

But what if you can't read it?

(Iranian Mauser)
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 Model Name/Number

This very clearly says that it is a Type 99

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 Model Name/Number

Store brand guns – this was actually made by FN

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 Manufacturer Name

 On civilian guns, typically company name

 On military guns, typically arsenal name
 Sometimes just a location

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 Manufacturer Name

Often a company's location will also be marked – this

was how you could find the company.

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 Country of Origin

 This is rarely directly marked on military arms, with

the exception of guns imported for commercial sale
 It usually must be inferred from other markings

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 Import Markings

In 1968, the GCA required this information to be

marked on all guns imported into the US:
 Serial number
 Manufacturer
 Country of origin
 Model designation
 Caliber
 Importer name
 Importer location (city & state)
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 Import Markings

Typically abbreviated heavily:

Century International Arms, Saint Albans, Vermont

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 Import Markings

 Location varies – 2002 regulation change required

them to be “conspicuous”

 Serial number may not contain non-latin numbers –

if it does, a new one must be marked.
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 Import Markings

Possible locations
 Under front of barrel
 Under grip panels (old)
 Side of receiver
 Sometimes tiny!

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 Import Markings

Prior to 1968, commercial imports had to be marked

with the country of origin

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 Import Markings

Of course, they sometimes goofed...

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 Import Markings

Remember, not all info has to be in the same place.

If the caliber, model, or other data is already on the

gun, it does not need to be marked again.

Import markings are not required to be on the receiver,

but are illegal to alter or deface. However, it is legal
to remove parts they are on (ie, barrels) for repair.
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 Serial Number

In the US, serial numbers became legally required on

guns in 1968.

Virtually all military arms have serial numbers.

Most pre-1968 commercial arms of reasonable quality

and cost also had them.

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 Serial Number

 Often multiple large parts are

serial numbered.

 On commercial arms, it is rare

for parts to be mis-matched.

 On military arms, it is fairly common – usually bolts

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 Serial Number

Some folks (like Germans) would serial number

everything right down to the screws:

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 Serial Number

The only legally required serial number is the one on

the receiver – but this may not be where a
manufacturer marks it:

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 Serial Number

Sometimes military arms will have unit markings,

which look like additional serial numbers:

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 Serial Number

Foreign-made guns may have numbers printed in non-

Latin numerals:

Looks like “AK”, but it's actually “DK” in Cyrillic

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 Serial Number

Arabic script...

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 Serial Number

or Thai script...

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 Serial Number

 Letters within a serial number...

 Production block code (very common)
 Date code (fairly common)
 Prefix meaning “number” (“N” on some rifles)
 Suffix meaning “year” (cyrillic “r”)
 Model or feature designation (often built into the
serial number rather than separate)

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 Caliber

Generally caliber markings on military arms specify

the bore diameter only – the specific cartridge must
be determined from context.

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 Caliber

Which 9mm, exactly? Spanish JoLoAr:

9x17mm (.380ACP) 9x23mm (9mm Largo)

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 Caliber

Military forces often updated guns to different

cartridges, and did not always mark them clearly.

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 Caliber

It was also fairly common to change the chamber

profile to accept different bullet profiles.

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 Caliber

Overall length can be a good clue to caliber changes

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 Caliber

Common opportunities for pistol caliber mixups:

 7.65mm Browning (.32 ACP) vs 7.65mm Luger
(7.65mm Parabellum)
 9mm Kurz (.380ACP/9x17) vs 9mm Parabellum vs
9mm Largo (9x23mm) vs 9mm Browning
(9x20SR)
The really confusing one is 9mm Largo vs 9mm
Bergmann-Bayard vs 9mm Steyr, as they are all
9x23mm cases.

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 Caliber

Occasionally, militaries actually try to be helpful:

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 Military Acceptance

Many models of firearm were made for both military

and commercial sale. Military acceptance marks can
help determine the provenance of a particular gun.

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 Military Acceptance

A few examples...

Austria
Switzerland Israel United Kingdom

France US Nazi Germany

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 Military Acceptance

One special case worth mentioning is the British “DP”

mark, for Drill Purpose

Generally meant the part was out of spec, and not to be

used for live fire.
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How about some strange and goofy markings?

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Chinese Pistols

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Chinese Pistols

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Chinese Pistols

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Afghan Forgery

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Test!

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