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Identification of marking stamped on Pre-War German air pistol

997 views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  roy666 
#1 ·
Came across a German air pistol with some unusual markings stamped on the butt of the pistol. They appear to be "lb/sl". The air pistol was made between 1927-1930 and the "1586" is the serial number for the air pistol. I have come across over 700 examples of these air pistols but I don't recall seeing this stamping on any of the pistols. There is also the number "948" stamped in the wooden grip. Someone said they thought these might be German Police markings with 948 being the inventory number. Any insight or information that you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your time.
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#2 ·
My first impression is that the marking "lb/si" is an English abbreviation for "pounds per square inch", which would seem odd for a German marking...plus there is no number of pounds indicated. Certainly odd indeed. Haenel was also covered by British patents, so perhaps it is plausible it could have an English marking, but I think it is doubtful it is a factory marking.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the response Ron. In searching the internet I came across website for "German Police Unit Marks, 1920-1937". I posed this same question on an Airgun Forum and received the following response which did reference this same site: "My interpretation of the markings under the 1922 rules (they changed in 1932 and were abolished in 1936) -
Berlin police air surveillance branch, South area, Weapon 1".

Your thoughts would be appreciated. Best Regards,
Bruce Jr.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the response Ron. In searching the internet I came across website for "German Police Unit Marks, 1920-1937". I posed this same question on an Airgun Forum and received the following response which did reference this same site: "My interpretation of the markings under the 1922 rules (they changed in 1932 and were abolished in 1936) -
Berlin police air surveillance branch, South area, Weapon 1".

Your thoughts would be appreciated. Best Regards,
Bruce Jr.
Berlin Police Air Surveillance? Boy that's a stretch. It certainly doesnt conform to any standard of police markings, not to mention the purpose of an airgun in police service. Like has been suggested, it was more logically an airgun owned by a shooting organization with the grip stamped with their inventory number. The lb/si remains unknown.
 
#6 ·
There seems to be no other explanation but lb/si in all lower case.

Upon closer inspection of an enlargement, it actually appears double-stamped or over-stamped over the same sightly offset letters.With a bit of imagination, the ghost of a number 2 can be discerned to the left. But I’m not putting any money on that.

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