47a096930 sig p226 serial number how to#

Other countries had also been falsely marking their products, but the Germans had been the worst offenders by far, and this Act was aimed squarely at them. In response,В Britain passedВ the Merchandise Marks Act of 1887, which forced foreign manufacturers to mark the true country of origin on their exported good (and gave Britain the powerВ to enforce it). BecauseВ British-made goods were consideredВ the highest qualityВ at the time, German merchants routinely marked and packaged their goods falsely - attempting to pass them off as British-made. With this protection, the German manufacturing sector grew rapidly,В and German merchants began increasing their exports across the markets of Europe. In 1879, Otto von Bismarck, first Chancellor of Germany, raised import tariffs on all foreign goods entering Germany in an effort to protect German manufacturers by keeping the prices of their goods lower when compared to foreign goods (Governments still do this kind of things today). This is a good place to take a quick pause and explain the origin of the phraseВ вЂњMade in Germany,вЂќ because itвЂ™s probably not whatВ you think, and you might not even believe it. If it merely says вЂњMADE IN GERMANY,вЂќ itвЂ™s not a West German SIG, and itвЂ™s incorrect to refer to it as such. GermanyвЂќ) stamped on the slide, itвЂ™s something other than an вЂњoutrightвЂќ West German gun. This brings us to the most important rule for determining a West German SIG: if it doesnвЂ™t haveВ вЂњMADE IN W. GERMANYвЂќ stamp on their slide:ДЎ988 SIG P226 with вЂњMade In W. Prior to their partnership with Sauer, SIG had previously produced the SIG P210 for the Swiss Army, so the two companiesВ built upon the principles of the SIG P210 for the SIG P220, which they planned to export.Д«ecause Sauer & SohnвЂ™s manufacturing facility was located in EckernfГ¶rde, West Germany, all firearms producedВ at this facility received aВ вЂњMADE IN W. Their first joint project was the SIG P220, which launched in 1975. So in the early 1970s, SIG (which takes its letters from Schweizerische Industrie gesellschaftВ - meaningВ вЂњSwiss Industrial CompanyвЂќ) partnered with a West Germany-based Sauer & Sohn, who was known for their quality hunting rifles, and the SIG Sauer partnership was born. So Swiss companies wishing to sell their products outside of Switzerland canВ work around this restriction byВ partnering with a non-Swiss company. Switzerland may have great cheese, chocolate, and pocket knives, but their strict laws severely limit the ability of Swiss companies to exportВ firearms.

47a096930 sig p226 serial number how to#

ThereвЂ™s no denying, however, that SIG fans generally tend to find вЂњtrueвЂќ German and particularly West German SIGs somewhat moreВ collectible and desirable, and so a brief overview of how to distinguishВ differentВ SIGs based on their actualВ provenances might be useful. As to whether or not those differences make one version better than the other is a matter of debateвЂ¦ better left to discussion forums and Facebook groups.

For a discussion on differences on the P226 model, for example, check out my P226 Version History and Head-to-Head Comparison video. Those differences depend upon which models weвЂ™re taking about.

those made with parts made in Germany and assembled in the US. There are a number of differences between SIGs made in Germany (or West Germany) vs. GermanyвЂќ stamped on the slide - when thatвЂ™s actually not the case. Some owners mistakenly (but innocently) assumeВ that a P-Series SIG Sauer withВ вЂњMade in GermanyвЂќ stamped on the slide, or aВ frame engraved вЂњFrame Made in GermanyвЂќ is no different than a pistol with вЂњMade in W. IвЂ™ll also see guns referred to as вЂњGerman-madeвЂќ when that might not actually be the case. Often, in firearms-related forums and social media groups like the SIG Sauer Legion Facebook group, IвЂ™ll see the termsВ вЂњWest German SIGвЂќ and вЂњGerman SIGвЂќ used interchangeably.