Anomalous Serial Numbers

[Used2b A Bull]

Please help. I posted same question on SKS boards on reddit and the mod removed it. IDK why. Exact same text as here.

Д Р 2328 И This is the serial on my Tula SKS, but I just found out it may have been transcribed because of the Cyrillic letter placement. Information would be greatly appreciated.

[Phosphorus32]

A picture would be helpful but I assume you mean the letters DP and I were stamped by the U.S. importer above the Cyrillic letters. That's normal practice and consistent with the ATF's interpretation of federal law regarding that prohibits any alphabets, numbers or symbols other than the alphabet and numbers used routinely in the U.S.

The suffix letter indicates a 1957.

[running-man]

Yeah Reddit is going to Reddit.  Not sure why it's so popular on topics like this, but there are a good many brain dead posters spewing over there for certain. 

That prefix set is not in my database as being with a '57 suffix.  In fact I have zero Д's anywhere in the 1957 series at all though there are a good many P second digits.  Likely a combo we just haven't seen before.  Pictures would definitely help on this one. 

[Used2b A Bull]

Canada import

[running-man]

Makes sense as to why I don't have an example like it in the database.  One thing I'll say w/o actually seeing it is that Canadian import precludes any transliteration by the importer...you guys simply didn't do that up there.  I'll assume it's a valid '57 Tula and with that assumption what you see is what the Russians stamped it with. 

As an aside, you shouldn't find the И suffix on any other component, only on the receiver.  Westrifle is notorious for humped guns where they did indeed stamp the year suffix on replacement stocks:




Sometimes they didn't put any Cyrillic characters on it and instead stamped a "1956/1957/1958" Tula star cartouches for a bit more ludicrous flair:



I haven't seen one of those in a long while though, most collectors who learn enough often avoid posting an obviously humped carbine on the 'net because they fear being ridiculed for falling for something like that when the inevitable pilling on occurs.  Definitely a 'mean girls' aspect to the collecting community which I don't much care for.

[Used2b A Bull]

The last Tulas came of the line in the spring of '56. Later that summer all machining went to china.

[Used2b A Bull]

I bet is was some dumbass who stamped in wrong place. I saw it happen lots of times in my career as a machinist. Everything I came across, including replies, say the Cyrillic A looking thing which is a D should be at end of serial number, yet on mine has it on the front. Maybe because it's unissued. Idk yet but I'm going to keep digging.

[Boris Badinov]

The last Tulas came of the line in the spring of '56. Later that summer all machining went to china.

Tula continued turning out SKS rifles in 1957 and 1958-- namely the И and К letter rifles. The machinery provided by the USSR for SKS production in China was likely new, or a combination of new machinery and the machinery from the Izhevsk production facility that produced the sks in limited numbers in 1953 and 1954.

1956, 1957 & 1958 Soviet Letter Rifles:
https://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=764.0

[running-man]

I bet is was some dumbass who stamped in wrong place. I saw it happen lots of times in my career as a machinist. Everything I came across, including replies, say the Cyrillic A looking thing which is a D should be at end of serial number, yet on mine has it on the front. Maybe because it's unissued. Idk yet but I'm going to keep digging.

There are lots of carbines with a Д prefix.  Not that uncommon at all...   

But yeah, w/o seeing it, it's all

[Used2b A Bull]

Thankfully my daughter took some pics for me tonight.

[running-man]

Very nice. Your serial is actually ЛР2328_И. (LR2328_I in the Roman alphabet).  LR is a relatively common '57 prefix as indicated by my humped stock example I posted above. Yours is definitely a 1957 vintage Tula.

That stock does indeed look as-issued. Can't speak to the receiver cover and bolt, but the rest looks legit to me.

Thanks for sharing. 

[Used2b A Bull]

Very nice. Your serial is actually ЛР2328_И. (LR2328_I in the Roman alphabet).  LR is a relatively common '57 prefix as indicated by my humped stock example I posted above. Yours is definitely a 1957 vintage Tula.

That stock does indeed look as-issued. Can't speak to the receiver cover and bolt, but the rest looks legit to me.

Thanks for sharing. 

I was under the impression that Tula closed their doors in summer of '56 and shipped all tooling to China. Is this not the case?

[running-man]

I have no primary sources that say one way or another, but most secondary sources I've seen say Tula continued to produce SKS-45 receivers through 1956 and assembled carbines through '58. 

Many have surmised that the equipment given to China to produce the Type 56 came from Izhevsk. 

Consider that the '56-'58 Russian letter gun receivers and the '56 Soviet-Sino initial run of ~2000 receivers are identical with Tula star markings and the most logical conclusion is that Tula produced receivers well into this time period.