[David Martin]

Hello all,

Does anyone have a good source of information for pistol proof marks? I have some vague recollection that the crown over the letter "G" was for King George. I'm not sure about the crowns over the "U" or "B".

The marks are on a 5mm parlor pistol. I don't know who manufactured it, or when it was manufactured.

Any guidance you could offer would be greatly appreciated.


David

[Joel Minturn]

So it appears that the Crown/B, Crown/U and Crown/G are German Proofmarks from the Stuhl Proofhouse if I am not mistaken. The proofmarks also are call Crown BUG proofmarks or similiar.

It looks like a Stoeger single shot target pistol from the 1930's


The middle one on the right side looks like yours. I believe that catalog is from 1932.

Quite likely the pistol is chambered in 22 short for indoor target shooting. indoor target ranges were popular in German beer halls before WW2. As always before shooting it get it checked out by a Gunsmith because it did come in other calibers other than 22.

A nice looking pistol to be sure.
thats my guess hopefully someone else will speak up with more information.

[David Martin]

Joel,

Thank you very much for this information. This will help tremendously as I attempt to determine the history and value of this pistol.


David

[Alan Schiff]

The crown u, crown b, and crown g marks are indeed German marks, used from 1891 until 1939.

Are there any other markings on it? There may or may not be a date code - unfortunately a lot of information about antique German guns has been forgotten, such as dating marks. After WW2 the markings were all changed, so the modern marking system may not help when trying to date the pistol. The 611 mark could mean June 1911, but I'm not well versed enough in German markings to know for sure.

You might want to send an email to the German Gun Collectors Association.
http://www.germanguns.com/questions.html

Hope that helps,
Alan

[Joel Minturn]

Little more information for you

The crown with the B under it represents - German proof using Mauser M-71 powder, c. 1891.

The crown with the G under it represents - German rifle proof, c. 1891 - 1939.

the crown with the U under it represents - German definitive proof, c. 1891 - 1939.


And the number likely is a month year. all run togather as was mentined by Alan
For more reading: http://www.germanguns.com/technical.html It also explains some of the other things stamped on the pistol.

[David Martin]

Thank you for the link to the Germanguns site. It looks like a handy reference site for such issues.

Just as an aside, I found they make replica catalogs of Stoeger guns. I might pick up one for reference. Here's a 1932 version for $20:

http://www.auctionarms.com/search/displayitem...m=10205932