Here is a compilation of all the import stamps I can find on the Russian SKS45. All the images are thumbnails, click the individual photos to enlarge.
If you have an Russian import stamp that isn't shown here, please post up a photo and I'll add it here. thumb1
- CAI #1, Century International Arms out of Saint Albans, Vermont:
C.A.I. ST. ALB VT
SKS 7.62X39 RUSSIA
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/CAI_ST_ALB_VT1.jpg)
Type: Stamp
Location: Right Front Barrel
Notes: I honestly don't know the true progression of these first few CAI stamps. This one is fairly common and places the "CAI" portion of the stamp before the "SKS" portion. Obviously pre-2000 imports as CAI moved from St. Albans to Georgia, VT in November of 2000. The CAI and SKS portions of the stamp were imprinted in two separate steps, there is considerable variation in the placement and order of these two pieces of information.
- CAI #1a, Century International Arms out of Saint Albans, Vermont:
C.A.I. ST. ALB VT <upside down>
SKS 7.62X39 RUSSIA
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/CAI_ST_ALB_VT1a.jpg)
Type: Stamp
Location: Right Front Barrel
Notes: This is a variation on CAI #1 in that the CAI portion is consistently stamped upside down. I've seen this variation on no less than 5 different Russian SKSs. It appears that the mistake continued unnoticed for some period of time.
- CAI #2, Century International Arms out of Saint Albans, Vermont:
SKS 7.62X39 RUSSIA
C.A.I. ST. ALB VT
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/CAI_ST_ALB_VT2.jpg)
Type: Stamp
Location: Right Front Barrel
Notes: Identical to CAI #1 except for the order of the SKS and CAI portions of the stamp.
- CAI #2a, Century International Arms out of Saint Albans, Vermont:
SKS 7.62X39 RUSSIA
C.A.I. ST. ALB VT
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/CAI_ST_ALB_VT2a.jpg)
Type: Stamp
Location: Right Front Barrel
Notes: Identical to CAI #2 except this stamp is placed at the extreme forward portion of the barrel right next to the bayo lug.
- CAI #3, Century International Arms out of Saint Albans, Vermont:
C.A.I. ST. ALB VT SKS 7.62X39 RUSSIA
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/CAI_ST_ALB_VT3.jpg)
Type: Stamp
Location: Right Front Barrel
Notes: A single line of text distinguishes this stamp from the others. CAI and SKS portions are now joined by a RUSSIA portion with a large degree of variable spacing between the three stamps.
- CAI #4, Century International Arms out of Saint Albans, Vermont:
C.A.I. ST. ALB. VT.
SKS 7.62x39 Russia
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/CAI_ST_ALB_VT4.jpg)
Type: Etching? Possibly a stamp
Location: Right Front Barrel
Notes: This is a noticeably different stamp with much different punctuation and a different capitalization on the "Russia" portion.
- CDI: Classic Distributors Inc. out of Swanton, Vermont
SKS 7.62x39 MADE IN RUSSIA CCCP##### <much larger letters for the CCCP S/N>
C.D.I. SWAN. VT
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/CDI_SWAN_VT.jpg)
Type: Stamp
Location: Right Rear Receiver
Notes: These are the ones that the 'real' collectors absolutely hate. The dreaded CCCP import stamped guns. Yes the CCCP is large and it's obnoxious and if it was a ploy to sell more Russian SKSs it probably failed, but the guns themselves are really in about the same condition as you find the CAI, NHM, and KBI guns: varying. Would I turn up my nose at an as-issued '53 Izhevsk with a CDI stamp on it? Heck no, that's just crazy talk.
Anywhoo, about the company itself, I have not been able to 100% verify that CDI really equals Classic Distributors, Inc., but there is some pretty compelling evidence that it is them. Some Swedish Mausers are stamped with a CLASS. DIST. SWAN. VT import stamp and Swanton, Vermont isn't exactly the size of LA as it only has 6400 people as of the latest census, so I'd lean towards CDI really being Classic Distributing Inc. Following that path, Classic Distributing does have a Vermont secretary of state filing here (https://www.vtsosonline.com/online/BusinessInquire/Principals?businessID=104729) showing that it was incorporated on December, 26, 1989 and didn't dissolve until after the 2002 fiscal year filing. This is the correct timeframe for the '92 to '96 import of Russian SKS 45s. It appears that the CEO was Theo Prokos. You gotta love unusual names like that because it makes searching for the guy just that much more interesting. I found a link to the 100th Congress, 1st Session Report on the Iran Contra Affair (https://archive.org/details/reportofcongress24unit) During 1985, Theo was the fast talker for Century International Arms, he was the one who was sent out to soothe things when feathers would get ruffled. Anyhow, I thought that was pretty interesting, it appears that the Iran-Contra Investigation, when it concluded in ~'88-'89 may have been the impetus that Theo needed to open up another import shop. Swanton is located in Franklin County Vermont, only 9 miles north of St. Albans. We all know who operated out of St. Albans in the 80's and 90s. These Russian importers are as incestuous as the Chines ones are! thumb1
- IO #1, Interordinance Inc. out of Monroe, North Carolina:
I.O.INC.,MONROE, NC
M56 7.62X39, CHINA
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/IO_MONROE_NC.jpg)
Type: Pin Punch
Location: Right Mid Barrel Under Gas Tube
Notes: The only Russian guns these stamps are seen on are Russian Sneaks. Imported with a batch of Chinese SKS in 1Q 2013, these guns are marked "China" despite the fact they are clearly Russian SKS45s. These guns will typically be in fair to poor shape, with a good portion of them in an incorrect stock or having a mismatched receiver cover.
- IO #2, Interordinance Inc. out of Palm Bay, Florida:
I.O. INC., Palm Bay, FL
M56 7.62X39 CHINA
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/IO_PALM_BAY_FL.jpg)
Type: Pin Punch
Location: Right Mid Barrel Under Gas Tube
Notes: The only Russian guns these stamps are seen on are Russian Sneaks. Imported with a batch of Chinese SKS in 3Q 2013 (IO relocated to Palm bay in August, 2013), these guns are marked "China" despite the fact they are clearly Russian SKS45s. These guns will typically be in fair to poor shape, with a good portion of them in an incorrect stock or having a mismatched receiver cover. Most of the IO Palm Bay Russian sneaks were confiscated by ATF and destroyed as they were not supposed to be imported per the VRA
- KBI #1, KBI Inc. (Kassner, B? & I?) out of Harrisburg, Pennslyvania:
RUSSIA SKS-45 7.62X39 KBI.INC HBG,PA RH######
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/KBI_HBG_PA1.jpg)
Type: Pin Punch
Location: Left Mid / Rear Receiver
Notes: Definitely one of the big boys in the Russian SKS-45 game, KBI imported a whole bunch of guns in the mid 90's between the fall of the Soviet Union to the signing of the VRA in April '96. The president of KBI was Michael Kassner (https://lauraburgessmarketing.wordpress.com/tag/michael-kassnar/), who is somewhat of a legend in the arms import business. From the Pennsylvania secretary of state website (https://www.corporations.pa.gov/search/corpsearch) (search for KBI), it appears that KBI was founded in 1989. Looking at the corporations Kassnar was involved in, I see Kassnar Imports Inc. in '67 (possibly his dad's company), Firstshot Inc. in '91, KopyKats Inc. in '96, Kassnar & Associates in '97. Kassner's Linkedin profile can be found here (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-kassnar-03081220). He is currently at IWI USA Inc.
As for the stamp itself, I honestly have no idea why there are RH prefixes and RL prefixes. Something caused the change, maybe it was as simple as a separate import batch. I'm calling this one #1 as the RH's are much more numerous than the RL's from what I've seen.
- KBI #2, KBI Inc. (Kassner, B? & I?) out of Harrisburg, Pennslyvania:
RUSSIA SKS-45 7.62X39 KBI.INC HBG,PA RL######
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian/import_stamps/KBI_HBG_PA2.jpg)
Type: Pin Punch
Location: Left Mid / Rear Receiver
Notes: Identical to KBI #1 save for the RL in the S/N. Far less of the RL's around than the RH's from what I've seen.
- NHM #1, New Helvetica Mercantile Co. out of Sacramento, California:
2####
NHM CO. SAC CAL RUSSIA SKS 7.62X39
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian/import_stamps/NHM_SAC_CAL1.jpg)
Type: Stamp
Location: Left Front Receiver
Notes: A simple stamp with three parts, the S/N on top, the NHM portion first and the Russia portion offset to the the right of that on NHM #2. I believe this to be the first NHM stamp found in the Russian SKS45s, though it could easily be argued that another stamp came first. See the IAIE entry in the List of Chinese Type 56 Importers (http://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=2111.0) for additional info on NHM.
- NHM #1a, New Helvetica Mercantile Co. out of Sacramento, California:
2#### NHM CO. SAC CAL <upside down> RUSSIA SKS 7.62X39
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian/import_stamps/NHM_SAC_CAL1a.jpg)
Type: Stamp
Location: Left Front Receiver
Notes: Very similar to NHM #1, but the S/N is in a totally different place and the NHM stamp was erroneously put on upside down. A case could easily be made that NHM #1 and #1a could be after any of the other NHM stamps because this one is so oddball different. I think it goes first because there are only a maximum of 10000 different S/N's with this stamp. They may have changed to the 9.9 million stamps if they ran out of numbers, but I've never seen an NHM #2 S/N higher than 21000 however. See the IAIE entry in the List of Chinese Type 56 Importers (http://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=2111.0) for additional info on NHM.
- NHM #2, New Helvetica Mercantile Co. out of Sacramento, California:
99#####
NHM CO. SAC CAL RUSSIA SKS 7.62X39
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/NHM_SAC_CAL2.jpg)
Type: Stamp
Location: Left Mid Receiver
Notes: It could be argued that this one is the first stamp but these look slightly less crude than the 20k stamps. Regardless, it is still one of the very first NHM stamps. The very low S/N (~20th gun in the 9.9 mil series is shown here) is in a very small and odd font. The numerals don't match the NHM portion at all. These import stamps are often unreadable, or at least only partially struck. The numbers, however, are struck extremely deeply. Because of these differences, I think the two may have been stamped at different times but it's impossible to know for certain w/o talking to an insider at NHM. See the IAIE entry in the List of Chinese Type 56 Importers (http://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=2111.0) for additional info on NHM.
- NHM #2a, New Helvetica Mercantile Co. out of Sacramento, California:
99##### <sideways> NHM CO. SAC CAL RUSSIA SKS 7.62X39
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/NHM_SAC_CAL2a.jpg)
Type: Stamp
Location: Left Front Receiver
Notes: A variation on NHM #2. This one has the S/N stamped sideways underneath the Russian S/N. I can't imagine this was something that occurred for very long as it looks terrible. See the IAIE entry in the List of Chinese Type 56 Importers (http://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=2111.0) for additional info on NHM.
- NHM #2b, New Helvetica Mercantile Co. out of Sacramento, California:
NHM CO. SAC CAL RUSSIA SKS 7.62X39
99#####
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/NHM_SAC_CAL2b.jpg)
Type: Stamp
Location: Left Front Receiver
Notes: Another simple variation on NHM #2. This one has the S/N underneath the stamp instead of above or inline. With this gun only being ~1860 guns away from the example shown in NHM #2, it's hard to say if there was a true deviation here (suggesting different import lots) or if there was simply a large amount of variation in the stampings from one gun to the next. As I accumulate additional NHM import stamps in the database, perhaps we will be able to make an educated call on this one. See the IAIE entry in the List of Chinese Type 56 Importers (http://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=2111.0) for additional info on NHM.
- NHM #3, New Helvetica Mercantile Co. out of Sacramento, California:
RUSSIA SKS 7.62X39 NHM SAC.CA 99#####
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/NHM_SAC_CA3.jpg)
Type: Pin Punch
Location: Left Mid/Rear Receiver
Notes: Here we see the pin punch being used instead of the individual stamps. Numbers are still sequential starting (I assume) from 9900001 in the NHM #1 series. See the IAIE entry in the List of Chinese Type 56 Importers (http://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=2111.0) for additional info on NHM.
- NHM #4, New Helvetica Mercantile Co. out of Sacramento, California:
SKS-RUSSIA 7.62 MM
99##### <very large numerals>
NHM CO SACCO
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/NHM_SAC_CO4.jpg)
Type: Stamp / Engraving
Location: Right Rear Receiver
Notes: Here is a very late NHM stamp. I believe this one comes before #5 because it continues the 99##### numbering format that was started in NHM #1. This marking is on the right side of the receiver, many people mistake this mark for a CDI mark as they are very similar looking. Another one of the marks that the 'real' collectors turn their noses up at. See the IAIE entry in the List of Chinese Type 56 Importers (http://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=2111.0) for additional info on NHM.
- NHM #5, New Helvetica Mercantile Co. out of Sacramento, California:
NHM CO SAC CA 7.62X39 SKS RUSSIA N####
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/NHM_SAC_CA5.jpg)
Type: Pin Punch
Location: Left Rear Receiver
Notes: Another NHM stamp, this one the last one in the series assuming they started at NHM #1. Certainly newer than NHM #4. See the IAIE entry in the List of Chinese Type 56 Importers (http://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=2111.0) for additional info on NHM.
- Springfield Armory, Springfield Inc. out of Geneseo, Illinois (No real relation to Springfield Armory located in MA except for using the name, but it is coincidentally quite close to Rockport and the Rock Island Arsenal):
RUSSIA SKS 7.62X39 SPRINGFILED INC GENESEO IL.
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/SPRINGFIELD_GENESEO_IL.jpg)
Type: Engraved
Location: Left Mid Receiver
Notes: Took forever to verify that this one does indeed exist. Likely a very small import batch. Thanks to Panhead for passing on the photo.
- TGI, Tennessee Gun Inc. out of Knoxville, Tennessee:
SKS 7.62X 39 JIANSHE CHINA TGI KNOX TN
(http://sks-files.com/Pictures/Russian//import_stamps/TGI_KNOX_TN.jpg)
Type: Pin Punch
Location: Left/Bottom of Barrel between FSB and Gas Block
Notes: All of these guns will be Russian Sneaks as this is a Sino-Banian stamp from 1Q 2014. There is also a two line TGI stamp from 4Q 2014, but I don't have a photo of that one on a Russian. Remember that by mid 2014, groups like Royal Tiger (IO's retail arm) had turned over their Russian Sneaks to ATF to be destroyed so it may be that these are the only TGI stamped Russian sneaks in circulation.
Photos from various auction sites and internet postings are used under 17 U.S. Code § 107, fair use, not for profit educational purposes. If any of the photos in this post are yours and you explicitly do not want them shown, please contact me.