It was a refurb and in reality almost all parts are remarked, regardless of how from a parts bin if needed and added to the rifle while it is being refurbished for service. They could care less whether they are marked, unmarked, or otherwise as their only real care was to remake them serviceable. They may look just fine and be all from the same arsenal or unmarked that was of no concern to the workers assembling them. They did the minimal work to make them serviceable whatever that may have been. You will find some all from the same arsenal and indeed I know some dealers who will take the time to mix and match refurbs so they are from the same arsenal and I do know some collectors who collect refurbs that do the same thing. As a result their history, if you can say they have one, should be dealt with piece by piece and no other way as they rarely if ever started out as the unit you are buying.



Even Finn rifles are just a mish mash of parts and really you can't say for sure when that mixing and matching takes place. Look at American arms today, the WW2 stuff went through so many refits if you find one all matching from an arsenal you can almost bet someone has tinkered with it to make it that way. I tried unsuccessfully to get an M1 Carbine awhile back and bid way over what I should have because I knew it came back with an officer and never left his sea chest after he got home with it. It was a classic bid on the story and not the weapon because I personally knew the rifle and the man and the money went to a scholarship program in his name so the cause was good.



We as collectors must realize most of these things are 100 years old from manufacture dates and a smaller amount from the last use dates. Do you realize how many hands they have passed through and how much can have been done to them? With a Refurb you can almost bet the house it was totally apart and manually stamped matching after being assembled from a pile of parts. Yet patterns and look alike things are expounded upon all the time here and other places. Do you get the idea of about how ridiculous that is?



My rant is over! If I need to I apologize for my attempt to inject common sense into a hobby that seems to not want it! Onward to the shop! Bill