Home / Proof Marks / Crown over U

Crown over U

German proof marks · 1891-1939.
What it looks like
A crown with a capital U beneath it.
Where it is on the gun
Barrel, breech and action.
Date range
1891-1939.

What it tells you

What this mark authorises you to say

Untersuchung — "viewed". The gun was inspected for defects and the proof was approved. It is the mark that converts a mere test into a valid proof, and the sources are emphatic that crown-B and crown-U are read as a pair.

What it does not tell you

What this mark does NOT say

It is not a quality grade and says nothing about the gun’s condition today. A proof passed in 1925 certifies nothing about a barrel measured in 2026.

Where the sources are uncertain

In some guns the U appears beneath an eagle instead of a crown. Both forms exist and the difference between them is not explained by any source consulted — the German Gun Collectors Association states outright that it is unknown.

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.