M59/66 serial number locations

[jeepguy]

I am considering a Yugo at my LGS, I think it's either a E or F prefix serial.  The poor thing has been bubba'd so it's not quite all there, bayonet lug has been hack-sawed off and the grenade sights are gone.  It also has a metal hand guard and a 20 round Chinese star mag on it.  If I can get it at a reasonable price I would like to put it back to the original configuration.  The stock, trigger group, bolt and bolt cover match, so the only thing that wouldn't match would be the magazine.  I have read that the Yugo mags don't have a serial, just a part number.  True or false? 

[Loose}{Cannon]

Yup..  just the part #

[armedhippie]

Yugo's are odd ducks for sure when it comes to the many part #s and serial #s. I have a yugo  mag with only the part # on the bottom like usual ( no serial ) but also have a cherry's with the usual part # on the bottom but also a matching serial # on the left side of mag.

Was digging around at my LGS and found a Yugo mag with a serial # on the left side as well....and then matched it up to a poor bubba'd up Yugo behind the counter. This 1 was a Tenn. import stamp ( TGI maybe, can't recall).

BOTH had tell tale signs of having serial #'s scrubbed to match. ( since most all SKS's have serial numbered mags...something done by the 1's doing the scrubbing perhaps?) The mag serial numbers also weren't typical stamps, but not EP'd either. Almost like some sort of chemical printing.

I'm still learning bout Yugo's , so this is just some things I've noticed. Also...Were Yugo reciever covers serial numbered? I have 1 with the usual part # but no serial #.

[Loose}{Cannon]

Ah...  yes,  I remember now.   

Its on the side of some of them and very faint.   Hmmm

I guess with a yugo it can go both ways.   

[jeepguy]

Thanks for the info.  I guess I'll find out tomorrow if they will deal.  It's been there at least since last fall.

[SKhiSm 59-66A1]

Its on the side of some of them and very faint.   Hmmm

I guess with a yugo it can go both ways.   

That's pretty much how I have it, with Yugo's ya just never know where it might turn up, or not, in places you might expect it to be. The receiver of course, stock, FCG, mag side, top cover, bolt, gas tube, gas piston, and barrel are all places you could find a serial #.

You may also see a shorter number EP'd at the base of the trigger, underside of the top cover, underside of the rear sight, underside of the gas tube (under the wood), the side of the inner mag sleeve. I'm in the group that thinks these are a "build order" number, fwiw. Of course in this case the gas tube is a replacement and it has the star mag, but it may still appear in the other locations. My first one has the serial stamped lightly on the mag side and I'm satisfied it's legit, same font and light stamping as the rest with no indications I can detect of scrubbing.

[jeepguy]

Well it's an E, so 1968 I guess?  It looked so sad sitting there I just had to buy it.  I will pick it up in a week or two,  have to watch out for the boss.

[SKhiSm 59-66A1]

Well it's an E, so 1968 I guess?  It looked so sad sitting there I just had to buy it.  I will pick it up in a week or two,  have to watch out for the boss.

Yeah it seems so, '68. Thanks btw, in looking at the E's and D's from this page of Withergyld's db,

http://web.archive.org/web/20071105194138/http://yugosks.net/M5966%20Data%20D5000x%20thru%20G2299xx.htm

I noticed a couple of real oddities I never picked up on before. Sometimes I wonder if maybe they had a stamper for a few years that had a really good connection for hashish.

Do you mind posting your serial # first three ? Or 2 if it's 5 digit ?

[jeepguy]

E104764, at least that's what's on my receipt.  I'll see when I pick it up Monday.

[SKhiSm 59-66A1]

1052xx showed a build date of 9/21/1968 so your own ought to be right up against that. Going backward from there, 839xx had a build date of 4/1/1968. They were turning out some rifles that summer, I was playing with my Tonka trucks on a pile of dirt probably