It also means your pistol was built before communism. I have to look up the 'A.S.' abbreviation, but I think it means 'Joint Stock Company,' and it is like 'Corp.' or 'Inc.' here in the U.S., or 'Ltd.' in the British Commonwealth. Oh, the manufacturer name on the top of the slide translates to 'Czech Arms Factory in Prague' and the serial number. You can use EOMONTH to calculate expiration dates, due dates, and other dates that need to land on the last day. If you have trouble googling them, I might be able to rummage up one or two of them. Those threads also often list the meanings of the various proof stamps and acceptance stamps you'll find. We have a few threads on the forums about the meanings of the various words stamped on CZ pistols. It is usually transliterated 'Cz' into English. The 'check mark' over the 'C' is called a 'h?ek,' pronounced 'haw check.' It makes the letter 'C' sound like 'ch' in English. The Czech language uses some diacritical marks over some letters that aren't all shared with other languages, but other diacritical marks are shared, like accent marks. The English language uses the Roman alphabet too. Those letters are all Roman, not Cyrillic. I'm gathering that it appears to be a 1944 manufacture due to the relatively low serial, but I'm interested to hear what the experts think. There are no other marks anywhere on it that I can find. The one on the trigger guard has only a K to the right of the swastika. Vertical piano serial numbers: Model 248A Pro, 48' tall. The ones on the barrel and the slide have no letters of any kind on them. One each on the left side of the trigger guard in front of the trigger, one on the barrel inside the ejector opening, and one to the left of the serial on top of the slide. The only marks are three small German eagles with a swastika. What really has me stumped are the proof (?) marks. It appears to have a brown (Parkerized?) finish, with visible machining marks on top of the slide.

He gave it to my dad in 1947, so I know its entire history. It was given to my dad by his cousin, who 'obtained' it from its original owner in the Reich.

I've been looking on the site 'Pistols of the German Wermacht', but this pistol doesn't exactly match any of the ones shown. It has nothing on top of the slide except the serial. Can anyone help me with the ID on my dad's Vz 27? It's an 'fnh' with serial number 303236.

Hr serial number dates