help to identify 1918 1920 9mm DWM double stamp

alanint · 02-08-2012, 03:20 PM

As the Germans were prohibited from producing more than a certain number of firearms for the military after their defeat in WW1, they turned to codes to identify local manufacturers in an attempt to conceal where the guns were being made, a practice which would not have fooled anybody who really cared for long.
Some of the typical codes seen;
BYF, S/42, 42 = Mauser
AC = Walther
CYQ = Spreewerk
AYF = Steyer
FXO = Haenel

There are perhaps over 100 more and tables exist to identify most of them.

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02-08-2012, 03:20 PM	#12
alanint User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Marco Island, Florida Posts: 4,867 Thanks: 1,685 Thanked 1,917 Times in 1,193 Posts	As the Germans were prohibited from producing more than a certain number of firearms for the military after their defeat in WW1, they turned to codes to identify local manufacturers in an attempt to conceal where the guns were being made, a practice which would not have fooled anybody who really cared for long. Some of the typical codes seen; BYF, S/42, 42 = Mauser AC = Walther CYQ = Spreewerk AYF = Steyer FXO = Haenel There are perhaps over 100 more and tables exist to identify most of them.