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. 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). 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. With this protection, the German manufacturing sector grew rapidly, and German merchants began increasing their exports across the markets of Europe. 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). 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.
If it merely says “MADE IN GERMANY,” it’s not a West German SIG, and it’s incorrect to refer to it as such. Germany”) stamped on the slide, it’s something other than an “outright” West German gun. This brings us to the most important rule for determining a West German SIG: if it doesn’t have “MADE IN W. GERMANY” stamp on their slide:ġ988 SIG P226 with “Made In W. 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.īecause Sauer & Sohn’s manufacturing facility was located in Eckernförde, West Germany, all firearms produced at this facility received a “MADE IN W. Their first joint project was the SIG P220, which launched in 1975. So in the early 1970s, SIG (which takes its letters from Schweizerische Industrie gesellschaft - 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. So Swiss companies wishing to sell their products outside of Switzerland can work around this restriction by partnering with a non-Swiss company. Switzerland may have great cheese, chocolate, and pocket knives, but their strict laws severely limit the ability of Swiss companies to export firearms.
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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. 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. For a discussion on differences on the P226 model, for example, check out my P226 Version History and Head-to-Head Comparison video.
Those differences depend upon which models we’re taking about. those made with parts made in Germany and assembled in the US. There are a number of differences between SIGs made in Germany (or West Germany) vs. Germany” stamped on the slide - when that’s actually not 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. I’ll also see guns referred to as “German-made” when that might not actually be the case. 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.
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