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Old August 15, 2004, 05:30 PM   #4
Jim Watson
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 25, 2001
Location: Alabama
Posts: 18,543
Sounds like you have an M1 Garand built by Beretta. I have read that we gave Italy the complete engineering package for the rifle after WW II and they supplemented rifles we gave them with new production. In those days the Italian Army issued two M1s per squad and the other men carried submachine guns.

The rifle's serial number is the one on the receiver behind the rear sight. Numbers elsewhere on the rifle are blueprint numbers for manufacture of the parts. Little crowns and other cryptic marks are Italian proof marks from government required testing as is common in Europe.

The hole under the "little flap" in the butt is for storage of cleaning gear.

The CMP will sell an American who shoots a CMP or NRA match or two an M1 for $550. Less for lend-lease rifles returned from Denmark or Greece. (Many with Beretta or Breda repair parts.) Rifles out on the commercial market usually cost more. I don't know about the dollar value of a Beretta M1.
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