Proof Date Codes

Amongst proof marks are codes enabling one to determine the date of manufacture of many guns.

Birmingham, England: date code letter placement:

    1921 - 1941: Letter at top of intersection of crossed swords. Number of dots beneath to indicate inspector.

    1950 - 1974: Letter at left of intersection of crossed swords. B at right. Inspector's number underneath.

    1975 - 1984: Letter inside upper left of circle. B at upper right. Inspector's number at bottom.

    1985 - 1997: Letter at left of intersection of crossed swords. C at right. Inspector's number at bottom.

London, England:  LP over 2-digit year; began relatively recently.

Gardone, Italy:  Month and Year in Roman numerals until 1945. Unornamented Roman numerals from 1945 until 1975, then a two-letter code surrounded by a small rectangle as per the chart below.

Eibar, Spain:  After 1994, the last two digits of the serial number.

Suhl, Germany:    Month and year, 3 or 4 numerals as required, with forward slash between month and year until 1930s, as: 5/24 for May 1924.    Afterwards without slash, as: 1163 for November 1963.

Ferlach, Austria:   The proof house's number, followed by a dot, then by a 2-digit number for the year, as: 346.33 for the 346th gun proofed in 1933. During the 1980s a three letter code was adopted, for example: ETR, where the first letter is the month code, the second letter is always a T and the third letter is the year code---see Chart

Other Date Codes:

Hallowell & Co., Inc.,  PO Box 1445, Livingston, MT 59047

Tel: 406 222-4770         Email: morris@hallowellco.com

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