Belgium produced thousands of them and many went to the US. If the pistol was to be sold in other European countries or the UK, the country importing it, would send the gun to that country’s national proof house to be reproofed.
Its a boxlock action in that the hammer is in the middle and is covered halfway on both sides of the action. Usually, boxlock pistols have the nipple centered on top of the barrel to face a hammer centered. Yours has the nipple off to the right a bit, which is still normal.
Belgium proofmark usually is a oval with “LGE” inside the oval. This refers to Belgium’s national proofhouse in Liege. Very rarely will a Belgium-made firearm have a manufacturer’s name on it. The largest company was of course, FN, Fabrique Nationale. Quite a few will be partially or fully engraved.
Belgium in the 19th century was what China is today, offering reasonable products utilizing cheap labor, and the ability to flood the market at prices that American could not complete on the same level.
Hope this helps.
