Just received a batch of mags I purchased recently, nice mags but the real surprise was an original M62 mag in excellent condition! This is the first one i've ever even seen in person, don't know what they go for, they may not be that rare, but still a cool one-off addition to my collection! Mag is in great shape, some tiny surface rust in a couple areas where paint rubbed off, but no dents or dings, been inserted but doesn't look to have been used. Got 3 cool pouches with the deal too.

First pic, that's not rust on the body, just a trick of the fading light, only spots are at the top and one tiny spot on other side of body.


That deep stamped "T"


Looks like a lanyard latch, but according to what i've read it was just something to help grab onto when removing from mag pouch.

Thanks brother! It's these kinds of things that have kept me steadily interested in AK's all these years, all the variants in guns, mags, and gear, just too fun. I also got a Hungarian moon-man 30 in that deal, a chicom flatback, a couple of yugos and some EG's, plus some cool pouches I didn't have and still need to identify. I had to pay more than I have in the past, but I feel it was worth it, guy gave me a good deal and i'm super grateful.

Recently acquired a later model EG cleaning kit to go with my old-style one, another nice piece for the collection I got off the EE here. Am working on a collection display box out in the shop this week for stuff like that, and my collection of oil bottles and pouches.

How do you identify East German magazines?

They're pretty unique, it can be hard to tell from pictures on the internet, but once in your hand it's easy to tell the difference. I have seen some particularly well made Hungarian and Polish mags that looked close.

Some good info here: https://smallarmsreview.com/identifying-and-collecting-the-7-62x39mm-ak-47-akm-magazine/

The main and easiest way to tell, is in the stamping of the ribs in the mag body, EG's are extremely crisp as compared to most other AK mags which have softer edges and gentle slopes. Yugo's also have this type of crisper stamping.

EG's will also have spot welds on the spine and on the front that are perfectly spaced and centered when compared to others. And the spot welds on the reinforcement plates are always cleaned up to be perfectly smooth, especially compared to Romy mags. Very often you can find Hungarian and some Polish mags that have the weld marks ground out like this.

The bottom plate also features crisp stamping when compared to some others, but the problem with floorplates in general is I find a lot mags with incorrect ones, so it's not the most reliable identifier and some other mags have come with nice crisp floorplates too.

If they haven't been painted, the EG's also have a beautiful and very distinctive blued finish which you don't see much. All in all very high quality mags.