These have been spotted since SKS collecting began, but little thought was put towards them until recent years. They were just considered another quirky variant of a common Russian SKS. I suppose it's like any new discovery...Until you see enough examples, they just don't stand out. I've personally been collecting them for about 9 months and have completely swapped out most of my "regular" Russian Tula SKS's and focused on this particular variant. I have discovered some interesting things, because I have a bunch of them to compare to, sitting side by side each other.
But before I get into what may be "new" or "theoretical" information, I'll explain what is commonly known about the Ex-DDR, so you collectors out there know what to basically look for. Ex-DDR's are called that because after the East Germans were done with them, they were returned back to Russia, thus the "ex" or "former" DDR designation.
How to quickly spot one:
1. The Ex-DDR will always have it's serial number (S/N) horizontally stamped on the left side of the upper handguard as shown in the following pic examples:
2. The Ex-DDR will usually, but not always, have the same serial number stamped horizontally on the butt stock. I say not always, because I own an example that does not, but it is on a non-refurb'd Izhevsk. That's a whole different cat in of herself and may be an exception to the rule. For the most part, look for this:
3. A "Triangle 1" mark. This is more difficult to find for the novice, because more often than not, the mark is a "light strike", leaving only a partial stamping or the person simply doesn't know what the mark looks like or where it is located. Many Ex-DDR SKS's are also "BBQ" painted, which may have inadvertently covered this light stamping. In text, we write "Triangle 1" as /1\. Here are some pics of what you may discover:
A pretty standard looking /1\ mark and what to expect to find.
This mark was barely noticeable, almost hidden, but was still "above" the line of the stock. You can just make out "something" just to the left and below the S/N.
This is what was discovered underneath, after taking stock off. This /1\ is actually upside down.
/1\ mark found below the stock. Even after telling the seller where to look, he still said this rifle was not an Ex-DDR. I was able to pick it up for less, because of this, yet here the mark is! This /1\ is sitting at 45 degrees.
Sometimes, the /1\ just looks like a scratch. Until, I inspected this one with a magnifying glass AND knew what I was looking for, this mark was undetermined as a /1\. Good thing I did look closer, because this is on a nice 1954 Izhevsk SKS still in her original KBI importer box.
This mark is generally found just to the left of the receiver serial number, but can sometimes be found under the receiver serial number, below the line of the stock. The stock must be taken off in order to find it, if it exists. Here are some pics of that location:
I personally, have owned 4 "Stock Stamping Confirmed" (horizontally stamped) DDR's that did not have a /1\ anywhere. Therein lies some controversy. There are two camps of thought here.
One, that in order for a Russian SKS to even be considered as an Ex-DDR, it MUST have first, the /1\ mark somewhere on the receiver, then second, the horizontal S/N stampings on her stock. This school of thought assumes the /1\ is some form of East German "property" mark and as such only rifles with it are true Ex-DDR's (This thought, I believe, stems from information gathered from certain German captured Mosin Nagants with a similar looking, albeit a bit more archaic symbol. See pic.
Commonly accepted "East German Property" mark on a Mosin Nagant
There has been some increased acceptance that the /1\ is some form of quality or performance mark, instead of a property mark. In my personal observations, I have yet to find anything that suggests this to be the case. However, if one assumes that perhaps that mark is not a property mark or that for whatever reasons, the East German's did not always place it there, or that it's not even a mark the East German's stamped, but some other entity placed there, then the doors open for some new and interesting ideas. This is technically the second school of thought. Simply, we just do not have enough information about the /1\ to say for certain what it truly is. I will go into some deep schools of thought on this later.
One thing that does always keep coming back to me, though, EVERYTIME a /1\ mark is found, the stock always corresponds with the horizontal stamped S/N. However, not all Ex-DDR marked stocks have the /1\. If you think about it, the /1\ mark helped to designate horizontally marked stocks as unique, but common amongst themselves. So we know that horizontally stamped S/N's are East German. We also know this because the Karabiner S SKS rifles, were produced by the East Germans and carry the same form of S/N stamping on their stocks.
If you have an SKS with a S/N that matches the receiver, the upper handguard and the buttstock, then logically it fits in with how we know the East Germans stamped their stocks, thus automatically making the rifle an Ex-DDR, even if the /1\ is not present. This may also suggest that, what we currently think the reason for /1\ is, might not be correct (Property Mark). I'll go into some theories on this later.
4. Another item that I recently discovered was a pattern amongst 9 out of 10 Ex-DDR SKS's and their bayonets. While inspecting all of my rifles, I discovered tiny markings upon the bayonets. All but one of my other regular non-DDR Russian SKS's did not have bayonets that were marked at all. I even looked at 3 non-refurbs, nothing. The marks that I discovered varied, but I found what I think is a /3\, a /B\ and even one that resembles a /R\. I think teh /R\ is the most common. On a few bayonets, I also found an additional mark that was a tiny circle with something inside (see example below). Typical of all these Ex-DDR stampings, they are only partially marked or so lightly struck as to make it difficult to determine that actual mark, past that it IS marked. Some pics of my Ex-DDR bayonets:
Great shot of the /R\ and the hint of another circle mark. Nice deep, rich stiking, but the circle mark is only partially struck.
Regarding Black Bayonets, it's commonly understood that a black bayonet is a sign of a refurb. While this may be the case on a regular refurb'd Russian, this may NOT be the case when the bayonet is sitting on an Ex-DDR SKS. There is the notion floating around (Of which I tend to subscribe to), that a certain number of Ex-DDR SKS's were specifically given a black bayonet. One thought is that it was because certain East German units were required to have a non-glare bayonet. Perhaps they were a special forces type unit? I don't know. I do know that I own a 1954 Izhevsk non-refurb, with Ex-DDR S/N stampings in the stock and she has a black bayonet. The black bayonet was placed on there by the East Germans for some reason. Why, I have yet to determine. Black bayonets on Ex-DDR's may also have been some form of ceremonial rifle. We may never know, but don't discount that Russian sitting on a gunshow table with a black bayonet, assuming it's a refurb. Go look her over, you may have struck Ex-DDR gold!
5. Stock coloring. Just the other day I spotted an Ex-DDR rifle in a picture. In this picture were 3 Russian SKS's and they were all laying on their left sides. No S/N's could be seen obviously, but I could tell from just the way the stocks looked that there might be an Ex-DDR candidate sitting there. Sure enough, there was one and it ended up having the horizontally stamped S/N and the /1\ was also present.
So what was my secret? Nothing really, other than seeing enough Ex-DDR's to see a coloring commonality on many of their stocks. Not always, but very often, they will have very dark splotches with light. They aren't necessarily the typical "fiery" or "tiger striped" stocks commonly associated with Russian SKS's sitting in Arctic Birch hardwood stocks, but of a different color.
Typical Russian hardwood stock with nice coloring. Notice the "redder" light area's.
Typical Ex-DDR stocks. Notice the almost "char-coaled" look in the dark area's. I think some were actually char-coaled, then reshellac'd, then S/N stamped.
1949 Russian DDR (right side)
1949 Russian DDR (left side)
Close up of Buttstock
1954 Russian DDR (right side)
1954 Russian DDR (left side) Close up of ButtstockOf course, not ALL Ex-DDR's will have brillant contrasting stocks. Some will look more traditional as in this 1954 Izhevsk DDR, but look for the "charcoaled" areas. You can see it under the deep garnet shellac.
There are many ways to spot an Ex-DDR, so make certain you look them over very carefully. I'm sure I'm forgetting something and we may also find new ways to spot them, so this is certainly not an all encompassing or "finished" tutorial. My goal is to help inform the uninformed and make the love of SKS collecting more rewarding for all of us.
I will add my "theories" at a later date, but wanted to get this up on the board, as we all know, SKS's aren't getting easier to find and time may be a missed opportunity!
(Disclaimer - I am by no means an expert on the Ex-DDR, so feel free to disagree, complain and discuss any and all items I have written. I simply have compiled my personal observations. -Drago)
