| Merkur (Solingen) — the Merkur-Werk marks and the owner DOVO | the originating firm was founded in 1896; the marks were registered from 1911 → 1915/16; modern models — the DOVO line | 7 | No codes and no serial numbers. What exists: the founding year of the works (1896, Emil Hermes, Merkur-Werk) and mark registration years (1911, 1913, |
| Country mark (lower bound, NOT a year) | the requirement applies from 1 March 1891 (Tariff Act of 1890, also known as the McKinley Tariff) | 2 | A country mark is only a LOWER BOUND (the item is no earlier than the introduction of the marking) and never a year. For Merkur the mark GERMANY/Solin |