This might help some: Then compare to pictures here for a general format by country: Remember, Bulgie surplus dates are the first two numbers +60 and the EGs are dated by year 58 to 65. If you run across a way to date IJ-70s (sans manual) and Chinese type 59 ZZs by the serial number, please let me know. Using advanced search on GunBoards can give one a virtual plethora of info to glean from.:thumbsup. :) Serial # prefixes, generally considered lot codes, don't get a lot of discussion because the commies kept production numbers to themselves.

The East Germans kept good records, but the published list for EG Mak prefixes is incomplete, as examples show up not listed. Without representing a number of guns produced in that lot; and the year of manufacture marked on the weapon, the prefixes are just 'there'. Cyrillic is cool to see on some examples, but I don't know what it means on a Makarov, so my brain just falls asleep.

The Makarov pistol or PM is a Russian semi-automatic pistol. Under the project leadership of. During the 1990s, Baikal marketed various Makarov-derived handguns in the United States under the IJ-70 model. Keytext 3 serial number. Included were. Detent holes.). Special training cutaways with serial number prefix 'SM' were also produced. The serial number is unusual, but we have seen similar serial numbers before, they are attributed to early production. For your information the earliest East German makarov known is one that was made in 1.

Ran across this info from some notes from Makarov.com-IIRC there is also an example of an EG with a 'DD' prefix; not listed, probably others (dated list). Note that this table is not complete and there appears to be a sequential pattern, so don't panic if yours doesn't fit into the ones listed.

East German production codes Production year Letter Code 1958 S 1959 J, K, L, N, U 1960 B, F, G, H, M, T 1961 AP*,AR, AS, AQ, AT, AU, AV, AW, AX, AY, AZ 1962 BR, BT, BU, BV, BW, BX, BY, BZ 1963 DA, DB, DE, DF, DH, DK, DL, DP, BO, BP 1964 ES, ET, EV, EX, EZ 1965 ER, FB, FH, FF * One person noted that his gun was marked 'AP' and '62,' so there appear to be inconsistencies. China Not terribly much is known about these, except that they were brought in as Norinco Model 59. Not many are available, so they often command a premium over other Makarovs. On the whole, the quality of these is not as good as some of the others, but there have been notable exceptions. Very rarely you may run across a Type 59 with an Arsenal mark (number) in a triangle. Most common found are 56 and 66.

These were Military pistols that were remarked and packed for Commercial Export. A Chinese Makarov with 'SHI' mark is of Military issue, and normally if found in the USA means it was a War Trophy 'bring Back' from some conflict, and commands a Premium price. Bulgaria The Bulgarian Arsenal Makarovs are the only ones that are currently being imported into the country. Miltex had an exclusivity agreement with Arsenal before they decided to get out of the small arms business. Many other Bulgarian Makarovs are out on the market including some military surplus. As the Bulgarians start to switch to other guns as standard police and military issue, these should continue to pop up everywhere and can be purchased at a very good price.

Fortunately for US shooters, these are very nicely done and some interesting variants were delivered by Miltex. Again, since Miltex is out of this business, collectors might want to consider picking up one of the Miltex 'Special Edition' Makarovs still floating around on the market. In recent years, the Bulgarians have held the most market share (of all the Makarovs. As such, there are variants among these, primarily in grips and markings, including police, military, commercial, and even mis-marked Russians. Bulgarian production codes To find the Year of Manufacture of your Bulgarian 'Circle 10' Military Makarov, look at the serial number (S/N), normally found on the left side of the frame, above the grip. The first two letters are the Production series, the next two digits are the Year code, see list below. The last four digits are the unit number in that production series.

Please note, the 1970 date is start of all Production at this plant using the 'Circle 10' code, the Makarov was first produced under Russian supervision in 1975, and first year of Production under Bulgarian control was 1976. Some Bulgarian pistols made in 1975 will have the Russian Date format, with the full year in place of the later date codes. Year Code Year Code Year Code Year Code 1970 = 10 1971 = 11 1972 = 12 1973 = 13 1974 = 14 1975 = 15 (Begin Makarov Production under Russian Supervision) 1976 = 16 (first year Makarov Production, under Bulgarian supervision) 1977 = 17* 1978 = 18* 1979 = 19* 1980 = 20* 1981 = 21* 1982 = 22 1983 = 23 1984 = 24 1985 = 25 1986 = 26* 1987 = 27 1988 = 28 1989 = 29* 1990 = 30 1991 = 31 1992 = 32 1993 = 33 1994 = 34 1995 = 35 1996 = 36 1997 = 37 1998 = 38 1999 = 39 2000 = Date codes dropped, year of production added after S/N. Production Series dropped to one letter, S/N moved from 4 digits to 6 digits to 9 digits, with leading zeros used as placeholders. *= Limited or interrupted production years Some Late 1999 Production models may be found with a '39' S/N code and the Year 2000 after the S/N. These are pistols that were assembled from parts and frames that were made in 1999.