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Crown over B

German proof marks · 1891-1939.
What it looks like
A crown with a capital B beneath it.
Where it is on the gun
Breech end of the barrel, or the barrel flat.
Date range
1891-1939.

What it tells you

What this mark authorises you to say

Beschuss — the proof load was fired. This is the mark that says the gun was actually proved, rather than merely looked at. In its final form it appears together with crown-U, and the pair together constitute a valid definitive black-powder proof.

What it does not tell you

What this mark does NOT say

It does not mean the proof was passed — a gun can carry the proof mark and a separate failure stamp. It does not tell you black powder from nitro: that distinction is crown-N.

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 german 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.