Beretta Gun Serial Number Lookup

Beretta Government vs Commercial M9 Identification

5/28/2018

In the early 2000’s, Beretta introduced their M9 Special Edition pistol. The pistol was touted as being marked the same way as the US government pistols. To the untrained eye, it would appear so. But when you know what you are looking at, you can see there are very simple subtle differences which will differentiate one from the other.
The top two M9 slides are US government production slides. By looking at the right side alone it is difficult to determine. The real identifying marks are on the left. Notice the top three slides have a “PM” laser etched in front of the part number. All government slides must have this to indicate the pistol slide has been submitted to a proof cartridge and passed a magnetic particle inspection. Prior to the release of the J92M9AOM, there was a special run of M9 commemorative pistols which came with a Bianchi holster, magazine pouch and web belt (third slide). This early commercial version had a “PM” mark but the later production never did. The fourth slide was from the early limited release and the bottom is the standard production commercial M9 (J92M9AOM) pistol
The markings on the left side give you all the identification information needed. The top 2 are US government production. Notice the difference in the markings. First the top says P.BERETTA and the middle says BERETTA USA. This denotes the top slide was a first production, made in Italy. The Middle one states that the pistol was made in the Beretta USA facility. The “65490” is Beretta’s government CAGE code. Next you want to look at the “PB” mark. Notice on the top two government pistols, the PB has solid letters as compared to the stylized commercial PB shown on the bottom commercial slide. This shows the bottom slide came off an early M9 Special Edition or a newer commercial J92M9AOM pistol.
Above shows the government barrel assembly on top. Notice the laser etched “PM” which indicates the barrel was subjected to a proof cartridge and then passed a magnetic particle inspection. US government locking blocks will also have “PM” laser etched on the top of the locking block indicating the same. Also, on the bottom of the barrel it will read “934626-65490”, which indicated the part number and CAGE code for the barrel. This may or may not be found on the commercial pistols. The barrel below is the commercial barrel on the M9 Special Edition pistol. Notice the “C” laser engraved over the “PM”. This indicate the C for Commercial. Immediately shows this is not a US government component. I have never seen a “PM” marked locking block on any of the M9 Special Edition commercial pistols that I have come across.
Here we see the US government contract hammer on the top. The bottom is the M9 Special Edition commercial hammer. Notice how underneath the CAGE code there is a “C”. Once again, this indicates it is for the Commercial pistol. I have seen many later production M9 Special Edition pistols come with a completely unmarked hammer indicating Beretta stopped producing a marked hammer for the commercial gun.
The marks on the left side of the frame under the grip are correct for both pistols. The difference is the right grip panel includes the part number and CAGE code, but the left grip panel of the commercial pistol comes without part numbers. The US government pistol will have a different part number and CAGE code. Additionally, on the frame six or seven numerical serial numbers are on the government pistols. The early M9 Special Edition and current production M9 commercial pistols will have a prefix of M9 plus a seven numerical serial number.
The magazines shipped with the M9 Special Edition pistol are commercial Beretta magazines. The US government magazines will be marked “ASSY9346413-6590” on the right side. Both commercial and military pistols with Beretta magazines will be marked either “PB CAL 9 PARA MADE IN ITALY' or 'PB CAL 9 PARA MADE IN U.S.A.”
Beretta has made sure that they, the government and law enforcement can tell the difference between actual government guns and the commercial pistols they sell. There are no absolutes in this world. One could acquire US government barrels, hammers, slides and locking blocks and place them on an M9 special edition frame. As long as the serial number on the frame has not been altered, the M9 prefix and seven numerical number will show if the frame started life as a government pistol or a commercial M9 Special Edition pistol.

4/8/2020 03:54:08 pm

Chris;
Thanks for the information. The article answered a lot of questions I had regarding my M9-115x but it raised two others.
You mentioned that a 'C' indicates the part is commercial not military yet in the first photo of the 4 right hand views of the slide you mention that the top two are true US Govt. Yet, the second slide has the part number followed by a 'c' and no cache number. I have a slide that is identical. Govt or commercial?
Also, I have a true govt barrel and locking block but no 'PM' on the locking block that I can see. Where would it be etched?
Regards, Brandon

4/26/2020 09:26:00 am

Hi Chris looking for a government issued M9 with FM markings and cage code can you let me know please if you could locate me one thank you

5/21/2020 10:34:31 am

Sharing some variations seen on my own M9. I've always assumed it's a commercial model. I bought it second hand without a box, without the factory plastic grips, but with factory walnut grips and the round alan style grip screws. I doubt it has been shot except if it was factory tested. There's no carbon to be found anywhere. All of that seems consistent with an original purchaser who got a special edition for display only, which would be a commercial item.
On the left side of the barrel, there are no markings (unlike the photos which show C PM or PM).
On the right side of the barrel assembly, my example bears a mark of a plain-style letter 'P' surrounded by a shield.
The left side of the slide is marked like the third slide of three shown in the article above, with the stylized PB in an oval: U.S. 9mm M9-BERETTA U.S.A.-65490 PB (stylized, oval enclosed).
The right side of the slide is marked like the fourth slide of the four shown in the article above: ASSY 9346487-65490.
The left side of the frame is marked M9-123456 (notably with a six digit numerical serial number).
The right side of the frame is marked U.S. 9mm M9-BERETTA U.S.A.-65490.
The hammer is of the same style as pictured in the article but with no markings on either side. It feels like steel to the touch and a magnet agrees.
The trigger felt like polymer to the touch, but a magnet says it's steel. It has a little bendy flexy feel to it that is very different than others I've checked out. Others that I have are definitely hard steel, no flexy bendy, and a magnet agrees.
The guide rod in my example is plastic with 4 fins the whole length.
The on-slide safety switch is steel on the right side and magnetic, the safety switch on the left style seems plastic and the magnet slips away to the slide itself. I think it's plastic. Anybody out there have a plastic and steel safety switch?
The mag release is the original style and is made of plastic.
The takedown lever is steel. The takedown button is steel.
The slide catch / release lever is steel.
The frame is aluminum, non-magnetic.
It bears none of the modern messages of 'read manual before operating' or 'fires without magazine.'
That's what my example of a commercial M9 looks like. Thanks for a great article!

9/3/2020 04:26:02 am

I have an M9 with an eagle stamp on the CD. Do you know what that cid:37DD4FD3-64A1-457A-A0F7-8A38B6C7D76A


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Sorry, but we could not locate your serial number. Please try again or call us at 1-800-BERETTA ext. 2003 between 9 AM and 5 PM EST Monday through Friday. Same thing with mine, mine dates back to 1990 or so, wonder if it is just older numbers.