Factory 26 oddball?

[Ghost51xxx]

Found this oddball on Armslist today. Looks like a factory 26. Does anyone know what it is? I always thought the factory 26 with the Chinese characters was in the millions.

[Phosphorus32]

Good questions and observations.

I wonder if it's an 8 million with the last digit of the serial number photoshopped out.

[Matchka]

The blue right after the last 6 appears to have a darker/smoother patina

I wonder if it's an 8 million with the last digit of the serial number photoshopped out.
[/quote]

[running-man]

Second digit looks like a capital S to me, not a 5. Wonder if it started out life as a letter gun and was 'upgraded' to a pseudo 8 mil gun. Bizarro gun for certain, won't be the last one we'll ever see.

[Ghost51xxx]

You're right RM, it is an S. I asked the seller to verify the serial number and its 8S1666. Here is the other picture on the listing.

[Ghost51xxx]

I just sent a email to the seller and asked if the other numbers matched the receiver. I'll keep everyone posted when I get a reply.

[Ghost51xxx]

Sellers reply: "Hey, no unfortunately it is non matching. It matches the stock and sights, and then serial number 3521 matches the rest of the parts".
   Too bad its not all matching but its still kind of interesting.

[Phosphorus32]

Non-matching and it appears refinished from the seller's poor low resolution pics. If it's really cheap it would probably be a good shooter. Not much collector value.

[SKS/Nut]

Sure that's 26, and not 28? That looks like an 8...

[Loose}{Cannon]

Good questions and observations.

I wonder if it's an 8 million with the last digit of the serial number photoshopped out.

[Boris Badinov]

My best guess is it's pre-ban import with a serial scrub and re-stamp.

The serial is too far to the left to have been an "S" Letter rifle. No?

And, if the second character is a 5, 8.5mil is too high for an 8mil serial with the last digit photo-shopped out.

Maybe the import stamp (or lack there of-- i.e. Canada) would tell us more?

[echo1]

Non-matching and it appears refinished from the seller's poor low resolution pics. If it's really cheap it would probably be a good shooter. Not much collector value.

Good for doing evil deeds to it  PAX

[running-man]

The serial is too far to the left to have been an "S" Letter rifle. No?

Yes, way too far to the right to be a simple restamp of a letter gun, I honestly wasn't thinking it through when I tossed out my initial response.  They would have had to add the 五六式 stamp after the fact too because a letter S gun would have had no 五六式 markings.  I hadn't thought of the position of the stamp, /26\ was to the right of the S/N on the letter guns so either it or the S/N (or both) would have been moved from the original position.  I guess it makes more sense that this receiver would have been sterilized and then completely remarked.  Still makes you wonder why they used an "S" and not a true 5 and why only 6 digits instead of 7/8? 

Good exercise to show that the more we as a community think we know, an example can come around that just makes you scratch your head and wonder.