Hi, congrats on your Sauer, sounds like a very nice gun (need pics BTW)! I hope you have many happy and healthy years shooting her. Shotguns made in Suhl (DDR), were made in the Ernst Thalmann Peoples Works. Guns were stamped with some of the great names in pre war German Gunmaking, Merkel, Simson, Wolf, etc. All made on the same factory line, same guns, different names stamped on the guns. Of course as you correctly stated the Q1 mark is the highest quality.
Also, if an East German gun was to be imported into the US (but not West Germany or other european nations) it had to be stamped "Made in Soviet Occupied Germany". I've never seen a gun stamped like this however.
Dating them is exactly how you stated, month then year.
East German guns can be down right pretty, here's my 12ga Buhag Hubertius
Sorry about the pic, can't seem to rotate it.
Best,
Greg
