[augie]

What do I have here?
Serial # 21xxx C. All numbers matching.Three spread eagles over swastika. 3 WaA140 stamps with (H)next to eagle/swastika stamp under FABRIQUE. Also the letters MI on the upper trigger guard.

By the way, what white material do peole use to highlight letters, #s, &

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Thanks for any help.
Regards,
Augie

 

[Lloyd in Vegas]

Augie,

What you have there is a late war Nazi FN occupation Browning Model 1922. The three E/WaA140 marks are German army acceptance stamps (waffenamts). The eagle/swastika is a German Army test proof. The serial number with the C suffix is the last block (100,000 pistols per block) produced of this Model 1922. As I recall the highest observed serial number for this E/WaA140 M1922 pistol model produced under German occupation is around 42,000C. Your pistol then would have been the 221xxx pistol produced since the new serialization began in 1943 using a alpha suffix. Around 100,000 E/WaA140 pistols were produced without the alpha/letter suffix prior to the start of the letter suffix run. The pistol at this late stage of the war may have been produced by forced labor and under constant bombing harrasement reulting in less finished and polished pistols. The grips should be black plastic at this stage of late production but wood was also used. The total production of WaA140 M1922 pistols was around 325,000. These were issued primarily to officers but at this stage of the war they were used by many different branches and organizations. Now you need a E/WaA613 acceptance stamped model and a E/WaA103 acceptance stamped model to round out your German Army occupation M1922 pistol collection.

Regarding the material/stuff to highlight the markings/letters on your pistol. I use a white crayon or china marker. Others use lacquer sticks, white paint, chalk, white out. The secret is to make sure the surface is free of any oil or lubricant and push the material well into the mark and wipe away the extra with a rag. It is easily removed with solvent or brake cleaner. I get my markers at a artist supply store.

 

[augie]

Thank you very much for your time and expertise. My next question simply is, what might be the value of this pistol?

White out? No kidding! I thought it would be something much more complicated. Now I know how to improve my photos. Thanks again.

Regards,

Augie

 

[Darwin]

Of the FN1922 with military/police markings, those produced under German occupation are the most common - excepting those marked with WaA103 or WaA613. WaA103 marked ones are still are not terribly uncommon. WaA613 marked pistols are more uncommon. As far as value goes, the WaA140 marked pistols generally go for between $200 and $300 US dollars, tending towards the lower end of that range.

 

[augie]

Thank you for your help. At $100 , I didn't get stuck with " a cat in the bag." We all hate to pay "too much."

Regards,

Augie

 

[Pancho]

Use this:

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[Orv Reichert]

It is not permanent as stated...it can be easily removed with acetone [finger nail polish remover]

Orv

 

[bohemian]

I too use the lacquer stik, but I use Wd-40 to remove any residual when needed

Robert

 

[FNitis]

The marking on your triggerguard does look like "MI". Could you verify that it is indeed "MI" and not a lightly struck "MR"? The MI would make it a very interesting pistol!

 

[cj029]

FNitis,

Hi Anthony! Good to see you posting again! Is your book on pistol Holster/stocks available yet?

Best regards,

Charles

 

[FNitis]

Hi Charles,

No, I am not done with the book yet. It is somewhat of a difficult or even frustrating topic as there is always more and more to document.
I did make some progress this week on some of the major holsters I was missing. I hope to get it completed by May.
Thanks
Anthony