1908 Commercial, B.U.G. Proofed, #52110. "Prv." in Magazine Well

Nice one........probably Bavarian. I think there is still some debabte on the meaning of 'Prv'. However, I have not yet heard a more reasonable alternative explanation. It seems the Prv is more common on the bug proofed vs the C/N ones.

Until someone comes up with an alternative, documented, meaning, Prv indicating private purchase works for me. You have acquired a dandy! (insert an expression of envy here). Would appreciate a couple more photos of the whole gun when you have the time and inclination.
Ron

Looks like a dandy! Congratulations!

Nice one Tim!!!! congrats, John

That's a very nice display. Thanks, Tom.

infanterist2 said:

Hi Tim!
Here is mine - for sure absolutely not in the condition as your ecellent find...
Best regards from Germany,

Tom View attachment 703250 View attachment 703251 View attachment 703252 View attachment 703253

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Tom,

Is your magwell stamped with 'Prv' or just a letter 'P'? I can't tell for sure in the photo.

Just a letter "P", not "Prv"...
Best regards,
Tom

infanterist2 said:

Just a letter "P", not "Prv"...
Best regards,
Tom

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interesting.......I wonder how many others just have the letter P.

I have at least 1 with just a "P".

I have one of each. The Prv. pistol is a New Model American Eagle.

--Dwight

Dwight Gruber said:

I have one of each. The Prv. pistol is a New Model American Eagle.

--Dwight

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If the theory is that the "Prv" indicates private purchase by a German military officer, how would it be on an American Eagle?

I dispute that theory, with examples such as mine as evidence.

--Dwight

Dwight, are you aware of any other eagle (or other) examples? This is the first one I have herd of.

There are 6 New Model American Eagles and Commercials reported with the Prv. stamp, as early as sn 25755. I only began gathering this datum relatively recently, so it is likely that there are more. Also, I have a substantial backlog of reports which have not yet made it into the database.

In comparison, there are 8 P08 commercials reported with this stamp, and one report which does not include the variation. (There are a couple of P08 reports which specify no stamp present.)

There are 2 P08 commercial reports with the P stamp. I have seen more, but do not remember the variations. Again, in the backlog.

--Dwight

Could the magwells have been pre-stamped prior to assembly?

So, the earliest reported is 25755. What is the latest reported? Maybe in the 5x,xxx or 6x,xxx range?

What is the alternative theory?

"Could the magwells have been pre-stamped prior to assembly?" I suppose, but the relative difficulty would be the same regardless of when. Also, remember that New Model pistols have grip safeties and P08s have none.

The highest reported serial number is New Model Commercial sn 49747.

There is nowhere near enough actual information to support any kind of theory. A factory inspection/acceptance mark of some sort is a rational guess.

--Dwight

Ok, the highest new model is 49747. What about the highest for a commercial p08 model? The OPs is 52110. Is there a higher one with a P or Prv? I guess I could check your database, but I'm being lazy and hoped you might know without searching.

Since you can check the database yourself, I encourage you to do so.

--Dwight