Quote:
Originally Posted by Absalom
We have discussed this issue here before, but I believe the underbarrel finish markings, both the B and the N (the N was always optional even pre-war anyways), were no longer in use after WW II.
Based on my (limited so far) observations, the B disappeared with the British Service model in 1940, likely because that was never produced in nickel, so there was no point in noting the finish. While I don't have the data to back this up, that might have been the end of barrel finish markings.
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Well, this isn't quite right.
Before about 1940, blued guns were marked with a B on the barrel flat. There was no marking to indicate nickel. The
absence of a B indicated nickel.
After the war, the practice was essentially flipped. There was no B marking to indicate a blue finish. But nickel plated guns
generally speaking started getting the N stamp. The N could show up in three places: barrel flat, rear face of the cylinder and the left side of the grip frame, at least sometimes in all three places.
When stainless guns were introduced in 1965, it was common to find an S on the left side of the grip frame. I don't know if this practice was universal, but the stainless guns I have from the 1970s all have this mark.