Strange Serial Number

[Tman]

I was at a local sheriff's office the other day and they showed me their prized Thompson M1A1. I took a look at it and noticed that the serial number didn't look right. The number is AOC1C. Has anyone ever seen this style number before? It has been reparked and the light was bad in the armory so I couldn't make out any inspector stamps. It was registered to the S.O. in 1956 on a Form 5. Any guesses?

[giantpanda4]

Tman,

Did you get a chance to look at insides of the lower for it's s/n? Or would they not allow field stripping the thing?

Phil is right - we need more info on this one, but it is interesting!

I am very curious about altered numbers from the past - but why was it done before the onset of Thompson Greed?

This means that your s/n is probably the factory s/n, but what does it mean?

[colt21a]

could it be i.r.s.number,a stock number given to a bad rec. or since 1956 if true date,issued by gov.to them of abandon gun, confiscated crime gun[case, trail settled}

 

the aoc kinda gives it away maybe even something from out of numrich or possible interarmco,before interarm's...since in the fifties and sixties they sold many gun's to p.d.s and even dealers.......and in the seventies bought alot of military gun's samples.......

alot of crazy things have happened to thompsons over the years................so just about anything is possible.....and being that this is a military,might just be alittle harder to track.........

at least they still have it,and probably will for another fifty years.......good luck,ron