Antique Belgian Revolvers

BadLieutenant

BadLieutenant

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How can you get an antique status letter from the RCMP when you are dealing with a Belgian revolver with not much info besides proof marks?

Is it a gamble if the tech will issue it or not? :confused:
 
They often won't provide a certificate for belgian guns unless it has the pre-1893 proof.

And yah - haven't gotten hold of a tech for almost a week. Got a quick chirp from one but took a few days before that.
 
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Thanks tactical870! :)

Yeah, the techs are overloaded from their holiday left overs..... ;)

They are always nice, so we cannot complain....... they provide very good service for our tax dollars.....
 
create documentation yourself.
If the proofs are pre 1893 then make a declaration showing that,along with anything that will back it up.proof marks,pictures of similar revolvers,a declaration from a certified antique arms dealer or an appraisal from one is a good start.
Demonstrating due diligence is a good step regardless of an RCMP tracking letter.
If I had an antique arms dealer local to me I would simply get an appraisal done of anything I was planning to keep.That would cover legality of dates as well as value for loss.
Not really keen on the Mountie parchment since they asked for my PAL # for an antique letter...
...to each his own however.
 
Can you establish that the revolver is, in fact, an antique?
If it cannot be demonstrated that the revolver is an antique, there is every chance that the revolver is going to be classed as modern, and will be either restricted or prohibited depending on its characteristics.
These Belgians are problematic. They are generic, and often not well marked. The 1893 and earlier proof is sometimes the only definitive evidence of antique status. If the proof has the crown, it MAY have been made 1894 - 1897, but there may be no evidence to establish this.
 
They will not issue a letter unless there is some way to prove pre-1898 date of manufacture. With a lot of Belgian manufactured guns it may be hard to determine who the maufacturer was, let alone the date of manufacture.
 
The Liege marks should be enough to do it...
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They are. Just send this note: To whom it may concern; This revolver bears proof marks which indicate manufacture previous to 1893. It is therefore an antique
Any questions call #########X
Thanks
 
Was talking this over with a friend lately :) , and he actually just received an antique-status letter from the CFC for his Belgian .320 :yingyang: , with the only "identifying characteristic" listed on the letter being the name across the top strap ? :redface:
 
cyclone said:
Was talking this over with a friend lately :) , and he actually just received an antique-status letter from the CFC for his Belgian .320 :yingyang: , with the only "identifying characteristic" listed on the letter being the name across the top strap ? :redface:
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There was literally dozens and maybe hundreds of gun makers in Belgium at that time. Some Belgian guns are easy to prove antique status, some are impossible. If there are markings that allow dating it is easy. Some markings don't prove DOM, and some guns have no markings at all.
 
jethunter said:
There was literally dozens and maybe hundreds of gun makers in Belgium at that time. Some Belgian guns are easy to prove antique status, some are impossible. If there are markings that allow dating it is easy. Some markings don't prove DOM, and some guns have no markings at all.
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So what do you make of the Liege markings? :confused:
 
So where would the crown be? Would this proofmark be enough to denote antique?

Thanks for help.
IMG_2748.jpg
 
anchor3593 said:
So where would the crown be? Would this proofmark be enough to denote antique?

Thanks for help.
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That looks like it, sure enough - it's on the cylinder itself....:yingyang:

fiscus said:
When it looks belgian but was clearly manufactured with no proofmarks it could be spanish.
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By the way ;) , is this you too ? :redface:

Note to Mods: I'm not sure if I can do that hyperlink, but it definitely wasn't meant in rebellion/opposition to the rules - no infractions, please ! :D
 
cyclone said:
Were those proofmarks only "placed" on select Begian revolvers, though? :yingyang:

Silly question, I know...:redface:
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By law, any gun that was finished and sold at retail level in Belgium had to be proofed at a govt proofhouse and received a proofmark when it passed.

The ELG proof was used up to 1893 and guarantees antique status.

The ELG with crown was used post 1893 and is of no use to us proving antique status since it continued to be used past 1897.

Some Belgian gunmakers went out of business prior to 1898, and if the gun is marked by these manufacturers it is quite easy to prove antique status.

Some Belgian guns were sold at the wholsale level to foreign retailers (I. Hollis & Sons, for example) and did not receive the Belgian proof marks. Some of these don't have any proofmarks at all or may have proofmarks from the country where they were sold to the public.
 
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