Home / Proof Marks / Belgian failed-proof mark (R)

Belgian failed-proof mark (R)

Belgian (Liège) proof marks · 1846-1889.
What it looks like
A single capital R, usually on the barrel.
Where it is on the gun
Barrel.
Date range
1846-1889.

What it tells you

What this mark authorises you to say

The barrel failed proof and was returned to its maker for reworking. It is the one mark in the whole system that is straightforwardly bad news, and its presence on a gun that otherwise looks sound is a serious finding: the barrel was condemned once already.

What it does not tell you

What this mark does NOT say

It does not mean the barrel was destroyed or that it is unusable today — it went back and may have passed on a second submission, which would carry its own proof marks. But it does mean this barrel has a documented history of failing a proof test.

Sources for this page

Every claim above is attributed. The class of source is shown with each one, because a national proof house and an anonymous forum table are not the same evidence — and on proof marks the difference matters.

Reading marks to identify and date a gun

Proof marks name the test and the era. The serial number, where a maker published a browsable chart, can name the year. The lookup cites the threshold behind every result.

Open the serial number lookup

Other belgian (liège) proof marks

Mark descriptions observed and verified 2026-10-14. Proof marks are stamped by hand on guns up to a century old; a photographed stamp and a description in a book are not the same evidence. If a mark on your gun does not match anything here, that is a real answer — see the notes on unidentified marks.