pistol proofs

[vikingo]

Howdy, anybody know a good reference for proofs on old pistols? I have an old percussion muff pistol with the ELG (Belgium) on the action and a crown over U (German) on the barrel.
the only crown/U proofs I've been able to get info about are on shotguns. Now what l figure is that my pistol was manufactured in Belgium between 1811 and 1891, then for whatever reason re-proofed in Germany in the 1930s??? l would post photos, but l can barely figure out how to sign in here. Sorry, whatever help can come from this vague description would be very appreciated.
Thanks kindly.

 

[kg]

Make a web search for "proof marks" an then select "images" or "pictures". There's a bunch of sites with info around.

www nramuseum.com/media/940944/proofmarks.pdf
www powderhombre.com/mbpproofmarks.pdf
etc...

You need to host pictures somewhere else, like on postimage org, and then insert their addresses in the dialogue box following a clic on the "insert image" icon.

 

[appleorangefish]

ELG in circle (no crown) means made in belgium pre 1894
Certain euro countries required re-proofing guns to be sold there. The same reason you sometimes see american guns with european proofs, if they were exported.

 

[tacfoley]

The crown over U is STILL Belgian. Any letter of the alphabet, excepting i, j, o, q, w and z were used by inspectors.

German inspections used the letters B, U and G and whatever proof house carried out the test, as well as a raft of other detail, like calibre, weight and type of propellant and projectile.

Other marks are the Peronne, a representation of a decorative pillar in Liége, and the intertwined letters EP, for Épreuve Liége - Liége Proof House.

You don't say that is is percussion, though, which, given that you have called it a muff pistol, is likely. A proper description would be worth putting here.

No american-made gun of any kind gets to be sold in Europe, or any of the countries that are signed up to the CIP, without having passed proof in the country of entry. It is law.

Right now there are fourteen signature nations to the CIP, all of whom have firearms manufacturing industries.

The current (2015) C.I.P. member states are:

Austria
Belgium
Chile
Czech Republic
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Italy
Russia
Slovakia
Spain
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom