"GERMANY" Marked Magazine
 

Greetings and Happy Holidays to all,
Can someone give me a definitive answer about when "GERMANY" marked mags were first used? I am of the opinion they were first used in the Weimer era, but I have seen a few '06 models with the magazine. Could a 1906 Commercial or an '08 Commercial have been manufactured with such a mag?

Mike

Mike, This could be an interesting discussion. I think it would have to be pinned down by researching German proof or export laws. Certainly the Weimar period is where we are most used to seeing it... but was it required on pistols or magazines exported to English speaking countries...before WW1? I can't say but would like to know as well.

Jerry Burney

The country marking was not the result of European laws but of US laws :)

It has been in use, including on English pottery, for example, since the late 1800s.

Those English clay magazines are really prone to breakage.
:rolleyes:

Roland, that's why they were later loaded with porcelain FMJ round with a soft sand core :)

Gerben says..

The country marking was not the result of European laws but of US laws.

OK..Does anyone know when a US law was passed requiring an import mark of a country of origin on Pistols?
This would answer Mike's question and establish the earliest one would see a Germany marked Luger.
Although not necessarily. If a 1900 made pistol were imported in 1929 it would get the Germany stamp?
So there might NOT be a way to establish it? Except to say the law was passed in 1920 then we would know all imports after 1920 were stamped?

Jerry Burney

Jerry,

I think the search for the law should be broadened somewhat to include goods imported into the USA. The Tariff Act of 1930 is a good starting point, I guess. This law requires imported goods to be marked with the country of origin (in English).

To make it more challenging, an article does not have to be marked if:
"The article was produced more than 20 years prior to its importation into the United States;".

The Tariff Act of 1930 was preceeded by the McKinley Tariff act of 1890. This also required the country of origin to be placed on imported goods. In 1914, the law was changed requiring 'Made in' to be added to the text.

So now it really gets complicated:

1890 - 1914 'Germany'
1914 - 1930 'Made in Germany'
1930 - present 'Germany, Made In Germany, Product of Germany, etc...', except when the product was made more than 20 years ago.

Based on what I remember from my reading, the country of origin was required to be marked on most imported goods in 1890 and then changed to "made in ----" in 1923. I have a theory that only those mags that were imported separately from guns, required the "Germany" stamp, as if brought in as part of a pistol, the pistol would be marked. So according to my "theory" any 'Germany' or 'made in Germany" marked mag is a replacement. TH

Gerben, One sees few "Made In Germany markings on Weimar items? " Rather just "Germany"?
I have always associated Made In German to be late, almost modern in connotation.
I have what I know to be WW1 items that must have been imported during Weimar with just Germany markings.
Interesting....

Jerry Burney

To add to the discussion and add a bit of interest, please consider this: I have a 1906 9mm American Eagle that is probably a 98% pistol. It has all the right markings and telltale signs that it is 100% right. But, no "GERMANY" on the forward part of the frame AND the extractor is not marked with LOADED, but has the German word "GELADEN". I think it was sold in Europe and never commercially imported into the US. No GERMANY mag, but it does has a Cal 9mm magazine.
Mike

It would be telling to know how the extra mags were marked or not marked in cased sets. Unforunately, I don't have one to examine.

It is safe to assume that between 1914 and 1921 the import of German goods was not very common due to this war-thing that went on between 1914 and 1918, so it's not illogical to see a huge gap between the 1914 legislation change and the appearance of markings on guns imported from Germany in the 1920s, I guess.