Tom, the problem with that theory is that the numbers on the barrels and the "Simson proofs" were stamped before bluing while the PTV, serial number and 8,8X were stamped after bluing, at the time of the rework. I don't see how Simson could have anticipated the date their barrels would be used by the armory.
If the digit does represent a date, it is probably the year the barrel was manufactured by Simson. Maybe Ed can tell us if that makes sense.
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