Often, in firearms-related forums and social media groups like the SIG Sauer Legion Facebook group, I’ll see the terms “West German SIG” and “German SIG” used interchangeably. I’ll also see guns referred to as “German-made” when that might not actually be the case. Some owners mistakenly (but innocently) assume that a P-Series SIG Sauer with “Made in Germany” stamped on the slide, or a frame engraved “Frame Made in Germany” is no different than a pistol with “Made in W. Germany” stamped on the slide — when that’s actually not the case.

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Seller's Description: LSB#: 160706JV29 Make: Sig Sauer Model: P230 SL Serial Number: S039863 Year of Manufacture: 1994 (KE Date Code) Caliber: 9mm Kurz /.380 ACP Action Type: Double Action / Single Action, Semi-Automatic, Removable Magazine Fed Pistol with Decocker.
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There are a number of differences between SIGs made in Germany (or West Germany) vs. those made with parts made in Germany and assembled in the US. Those differences depend upon which models we’re taking about. For a discussion on differences on the P226 model, for example, check out my P226 Version History and Head-to-Head Comparison video. As to whether or not those differences make one version better than the other is a matter of debate… better left to discussion forums and Facebook groups. There’s no denying, however, that SIG fans generally tend to find “true” German and particularly West German SIGs somewhat more collectible and desirable, and so a brief overview of how to distinguish different SIGs based on their actual provenances might be useful.

“Made in W. Germany” SIGs

Switzerland may have great cheese, chocolate, and pocket knives, but their strict laws severely limit the ability of Swiss companies to export firearms. So Swiss companies wishing to sell their products outside of Switzerland can work around this restriction by partnering with a non-Swiss company. So in the early 1970s, SIG (which takes its letters from Schweizerische Industriegesellschaft — meaning “Swiss Industrial Company”) partnered with a West Germany-based Sauer & Sohn, who was known for their quality hunting rifles, and the SIG Sauer partnership was born. Their first joint project was the SIG P220, which launched in 1975. Prior to their partnership with Sauer, SIG had previously produced the SIG P210 for the Swiss Army, so the two companies built upon the principles of the SIG P210 for the SIG P220, which they planned to export.

Because Sauer & Sohn’s manufacturing facility was located in Eckernförde, West Germany, all firearms produced at this facility received a “MADE IN W. GERMANY” stamp on their slide:

Early West German SIG P220 with “Made in W. Germany” stamped on the slide

The above model also happened to be imported to the US by SIGARMS INC. in Tysons Corner, VA, the original 1985 location of SIG Sauer’s US operations — which then consisted only of importing and selling the West German-made guns.

In most cases, the “MADE IN W. GERMANY” stamp appears in uppercase, but there are also examples of the stamp appearing in title case, as with this 1988 SIG P226:

1988 SIG P226 with “Made In W. Germany” stamped on the slide

This brings us to the most important rule for determining a West German SIG: if it doesn’t have “MADE IN W. GERMANY” (or “Made In W. Germany”) stamped on the slide, it’s something other than an “outright” West German gun. If it merely says “MADE IN GERMANY,” it’s not a West German SIG, and it’s incorrect to refer to it as such.

Origin of the phrase “Made in Germany”

This is a good place to take a quick pause and explain the origin of the phrase “Made in Germany,” because it’s probably not what you think, and you might not even believe it.

In 1879, Otto von Bismarck, first Chancellor of Germany, raised import tariffs on all foreign goods entering Germany in an effort to protect German manufacturers by keeping the prices of their goods lower when compared to foreign goods (Governments still do this kind of things today). With this protection, the German manufacturing sector grew rapidly, and German merchants began increasing their exports across the markets of Europe. Because British-made goods were considered the highest quality at the time, German merchants routinely marked and packaged their goods falsely — attempting to pass them off as British-made.

In response, Britain passed the Merchandise Marks Act of 1887, which forced foreign manufacturers to mark the true country of origin on their exported good (and gave Britain the power to enforce it). Other countries had also been falsely marking their products, but the Germans had been the worst offenders by far, and this Act was aimed squarely at them. The British forced German merchants to place “Made in Germany” on all goods they produced, thereby protecting the integrity of British goods while simultaneously allowing consumers to know when they were purchasing goods from protectionist governments like Germany.

This means that it was Britain that actually coined the term “Made in Germany,” and forced German merchants to use it to prevent counterfeiting.

As time went on, German-made goods eventually built their own global reputation for quality and reliability, so that now the phrase “Made in Germany” is a mark of excellence, even though the phrase is not trademarked or controlled by any central regulatory agency.

The term “Made in Germany” was still widely used even on West German goods from 1945 until 1973, when the West German Federal Court (Bundesgerichtshof) made a ruling that the phrase “Made in Germany” doesn’t allow consumers to properly distinguish between the two Germanys of the time, and so “Made in West Germany” (as well as “Made in GDR”) started to appear instead. As for how and when it transitioned back to “Made in Germany,” particularly in the case of SIG Sauer pistols, you’ll have to continue reading to find out!

Proof Marks and Date Codes

Another way to identify a West German SIG is the existence of proof marks and date codes, though their existence alone does not automatically determine a pistol’s provenance. Even if German proof marks and date codes do appear on the gun, it’s still not correct to refer to it as an outright West German SIG if it’s missing the “MADE IN W. GERMANY” on the slide.

A full discussion of SIG Sauer Proof marks and date codes deserves its own article, so I went ahead and wrote one. You can take a break from this article and read it now, or check it out when you’re finished with this one. It explains the origin of proof marks, what “proofing” is and why it’s important… and also dispels a few of the Internet myths surrounding SIG proof marks in particular.

But the TL;DR version of that article is that proof marks indicate where and how a firearm was test fired and declared safe for use, and all bonafide West German SIGs will have one proof mark showing where it was tested, another proof mark showing what type of test it passed, and a two-letter date code stamped on the “chin” of the slide, as on this 1989 SIG P226:

Proof marks and date code on a 1989 West German SIG P226

Depending on the gun model and vintage, it’s also possible to see the order of the proof marks swapped, like on this 1977 SIG P220:

German gun manufacturers used the following letters to indicate proofing dates:

SIG opted to not use the letter “I” because it looked too much like the numeral “1,” so it used J = 8. Other German manufacturers (like Walther and H&K) were fine using I = 8, but avoided using J altogether.

So the first example tells us the gun was proofed in the city of Kiel (17 miles from SIG’s manufacturing facility in Eckernförde), and that it successfully passed testing with “Nitro” ro

Sig Sauer P230 Sl Serial Numbers