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Old September 3, 2005, 10:54 PM   #11
Mike Irwin
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Join Date: April 13, 2000
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 41,374
Fed,

Cross in the circle designates ammo maufactured to NATO specifications, and has since sometime in the 1950s.

Cases with the stamp were made to NATO spec, those without weren't manufactured to NATO spec.

I've got ammo from a variety of NATO nations, including Britain, Spain, and Germany, from the 1960s through the 1990s, and all have the cross in circle mark signifying production to NATO spec.

Munhall & White's "Cartridge Headstamp Guide" (1963) shows several examples.

Illustration 822 shows the headstamp on a 7.62x51 round (FA, cross in circle, 56) and has the following: "Frankford Arsenal ammunition made especially for the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) and identified by cross in circle. NATO 7.62mm rounds produced in 1956."

1227 shows a Lake City cartridge with a 1955 manufacture stamp.

Illustration 1375 shows a Dutch round with the NATO mark,

Match ammunition loaded in the United States almost universally is headstamped with the word "Match" or NM for National Match, as shown in illustrations 1228 and 834-836 and 863.
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