doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Strange Merkel Proofmark

Has anyone seen this mark on a GDR Merkel before, or can tell me what it means? It's on a 200e in 12 gauge from the 70s. The gun also has English proofmarks if that matters.

It's the Birmingham Proof House date code for 1975

That makes a lot of sense. Thank you sir!

That's a mark we often miss on British guns, especially if they have anything other than British proof.

It was also on a different location from the rest of the British proofmarks on the gun, so I was even more confused by that. I've only ever seen the crossed sabers, so I was ignorant of this version of the date mark. I appreciate the guidance gentlemen!

Maybe I am missing something. My screen for the picture of the gun mark above shows a mark in a circle. This seems to have no relationship to the Birmingham marks shown in Drew's post.

No, the mark in the circle is correct for that era.
My Miroku / Browning side-by-side is marked BB2 in a circle just like that, for the year after, 1976.

The first letter is the year letter, and the second just signified Birmingham. The number relates to its owner working at the Proof House, so not the most senior chap, but his number two.

By the by, my Miroku is stamped "Made in Japan and assembled in Korea". I didn't realise they did that.

HB

ok, I was confused since the proofmark photo has the mark divided into three segments in a circle. Drew's chart does not show the three segment division.

You're right Daryl, it is divided into 3 segments. Also it almost looks like it is stamped A F but that could just be a poorly stamped B. The gun was proved in Suhl in October 1974, so it stands to reason that it was proved in the UK in 1975. So it was probably proved during a transitional mark period I'm guessing?

Miroku started having those guns assembled in Korea in the later years of BSS production. Some people seem to think that the guns assembled in Korea are of inferior quality and won't buy one that was assembled in Korea. I have no idea whether there's any real difference. After all, there was a time when we couldn't have imagined buying a car made in Korea. But they're now quite common. For that matter, who could have imagined buying a shotgun made in Japan before Winchester introduced the 101?