Long Arm Miquelet-c1800-All Steel Tanchika

[Norman McCormick]

Hi,
Similar 'gobbledegook' on a Balkan pistol of mine.
Regards,
Norman.

[eftihis]

European arms were regarded superior than localy made in the balkans. So local smiths when they made a lock or a barrel, put latin letters in it so that it looks like coming from a european factory. It didnt matter that the letters made no sense, their cliends could not read either!

[TVV]

Originally Posted by eftihis

European arms were regarded superior than localy made in the balkans. So local smiths when they made a lock or a barrel, put latin letters in it so that it looks like coming from a european factory. It didnt matter that the letters made no sense, their cliends could not read either!

This sums it up perfectly. Cabalistic or enigmatic symbols in Latin would have no meaning to Muslims or Orthodox people in that area of the Balkans, but perceived western manufactured quality would.

[Cathey]

Thanks guys, now I can stop trying to match it up with different alphabets. cheers Cathey