Joar:
Pre-WWII use of maker's numbers goes against the grain as the 1st number in the preliminary datastring of each sporting weapon has an issued proofhouse number, which was designed to obscure the actual maker from the proof mechanics in an effort to deter bias toward a certain maker or pool of makers. As I understand it, post WWII the Brits devised a numerical system in an effort to tally the number of respective weapons that originated w/ a specific maker & then to keep tabs on production, etc. Axel E gives otherwise that the Ferlach makers devised the numbering scheme on their own & it was their house/factor number? For now I don't subscribe to that.
Cheers,
Raimey
rse
