Does anybody know Mfg dates by serial number ?

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

I have a Navy Arms .36 Navy made by Uberti. There are no proof marks on it, just the serial number, Navy Arms Co, made in Italy and A.U for Uberti. The serial number is four digits only.
Any ideas ?

 

[paulvallandigham]

Contact Uberti. They have a website. If anyone can tell you the history of your gun, they can.

 

[Zonie]

If it is an Italian gun (which a Uberti most certainly is) it will have numbers or letters stamped inside a square box next to the proof marks.
These letters/numbers will indicate the year it was proofed.

I suspect the AU is what I'm speaking about. If those letters are inside a square box that would indicate a proof date of 1989.

As for marks indicating Uberti made it, the BLUE BOOK OF MODERN BLACK POWDER VALUES 3rd ed. says on page 19, "...In short, there is no mistaking a Pedersoli product!
The same is true of Aldo Uberti, S.r.l, which has used the same logo since its founding in 1959- a capital U contained within an octagonal barrel device..."
In other words, Uberti does not mark AU on their guns to signify that they are the builder of it.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Thanks for the quick response. But there are absolutely no proof marks on the revolver. I found the information you posted regarding Proof Marks = years of production, I even saved it...
But this revolver has only the markings I described. The A U is in cursive and is located on the right side of the barrel, just above and slightly ahead of the wedge. They are not in a box like on the list you posted earlier. The only words on the side of the revolver are: Made in Italy, with A U directly below.
Navy Arms Co is on the left side of the frame where Colts Patent would be.
On the top barrel flat at the breech end is the marking:-Navy Arms Co-.
The only other marking is the number 13 which is found on the inside of the trigger guard, under the mainspring. 13 is found again on the underside of the frame and is covered by the trigger guard when it is in place. 13 is again found at the very back end of the barrel, next to the the hole for the arbor to secure the barrel to the frame.
I was unable to remove the grip from the backstrap to check for any markings.
the cylinder is plain and not engraved. There are no pins on the back of the cylinder between the nipples and chambers.
The serial number is marked only in one place, on the bottom of the frame, ahead of the forward end of the trigger guard. It is only four digits.
I received this revolver as a gift from an old friend about twenty-five years ago. He was the original owner. He has since passed away. The revolver was part of a larger collection he had. The revolver was only one of a very few that survived a fire when the owner's house burned to the ground. About 20% of the blueing had been burned off of the barrel and cylinder. The piece was kept in a leather holster. Water from the firemen's hoses soaked the leather and saved the revolver. You can see in the metal where the leather had been burned and the transfer went through to the blueing. The revolver was found buried in the ashes during the clean up of the house.
My friend sent the revolver back to Navy Arms telling them about the fire and what happened. Navy Arms checked the revolver for soundness and safety. They even fitted it with new springs because they were the only parts that suffered real damage, having gone soft. The piece was checked, cared for and returned to my friend, all for free. It is a great, fun shooter.
Even the varnish on the grip is in great shape and suffered no damage from the fire. I was given the remaining firearms he had that survived the fire and were untouched.
I am just curious as to how old this thing is and was hoping production dates could be tracked down through the serial number.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Could it have been built from a kit? I built one years ago, and by the time I filed away the tool marks and polished it to my liking most all the markings were gone including the proof marks.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Nope, not a kit gun. Definitely not a kit gun. I sent Navy arms a request for the information regarding manufacture, but it is too soon for a reply from them. I figured with all the gray matter assembled here, somebody might know.
I made the same request to Navy Arms for a Walker I have produced for them by Armi San Marco. It was another gift from the same friend and went through the same experience with the fire, but not damaged.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

The Walker has no proof marks either?

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

The Walker has all of the markings. It was made in 1977 if I interpreted the things correct. I haven't received a reply yet from Navy Arms about the production date of the .36 Navy, but I have the patience of a glacier.

 

[Zonie]

Ah-ha! Well maybe not ah-ha but first I must ask your forgiveness for my repeatedly getting on the Proof Date bandwagon.

When you mentioned the letters you didn't say they were cursive. The Proof Date letters are of course in block form, not script.

I happen to own a NAVY ARMS .36 caliber Remington which also has cursive or script letters but the letters on it are (as near as I can figure out) G. U.
The G is quite stylized.

I am not saying that your gun isn't marked A.U. but is there is a chance that the first letter is a G?

Anyway, G or A, I recall reading somewhere that there were two different Uberti companies? I have looked thru my readily available modern Black Powder books and I can't find a good reference to the existance of two companies but as I say I seem to recall reading somewhere.....

Perhaps someone else on the forum can add to this thought?

Getting back to my Remington, it does have the proof date letters (XVI) indicating it was proofed in 1960 along with the other Italian Proof marks. It doesn't have a serial number unless the "18" marked on the bottom of the grip is one.

As I understand it, it is a law in Italy that ALL guns are proofed so I have no idea why your gun doesn't have those marks on it. Weird.

Good luck on your search and hopefully someone else will chime in on the script letters and how they tie the gun to a producer.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

I thought for a while the cursive letters were either 'G U', or 'A U'. I've looked at the first letter with a magnifying glass and it could probably be interpreted either way. You know how some of those furrin' types write in English.
I would send photos, but I only recently started walking upright. Most of my time has been consumed working on something I think I'll call "Fire". With any luck, it might catch on. The computer stuff will have to wait until my kids get home and feel like doing something for me like sending photos. It ain't easy being the main source of embarrassment for your kids.
Regardless, the revolver is a Navy Arms/ Uberti. :hmm:

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

And again, I just want to thank you for the information about the proof date list you posted. I have referred to it several times lately. :thumbsup:

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Navy Arms came through for me today. What a great outfit to do business with. I received an email from them regarding the manufacturing date of my revolver. A retired employee was contacted who remembered the revolver and working on it. The year of manufacture is for the .36 cal Navy is 1960, unknown month. I was told Navy Arms had to turn over there records to BATF after the owner, Val Forgett Sr. died. so the month question is out of the window, no matter.
The folks at Navy Arms really went the extra distance for me answering a simple question. If and when possible, I know who I will be doing business with in the future. OUTSTANDING ! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: