Identifying Obscure Markings on Mauser C/96 Broomhandle Pistols, Part 1
One of the most fascinating aspects of dealing and collecting in antique firearms like we do daily here at Pony Express Firearms is tracing the history of a particular gun. It’s one thing to be able to generally identify the make and model of a pistol, it’s another to know exactly where it saw service, what units it served with, and sometimes to even trace a gun’s whole service history. That’s why being able to identify obscure unit and arsenal markings is a worthwhile endeavor.
In the next two posts we’ll be examining two Mauser C/96 pistols, both of which vividly illustrate how markings trace a gun’s history and affect value.
This first gun started out life as a standard C/96 pistol, made in a contract of 150,000 guns for the Imperial German Military in WWI. These guns were numbered in their own serial number range, and were chambered in the standard 9mm Luger caliber. For the sake of identification, these guns were branded on the grips with a large “9” that was then filled in with red (or uncommonly black) paint. From this we get the “Red Nine” nickname for this particular variant of Broomhandle.
Originally this gun had a 5.5″ barrel, 5-500 tangent rear sight, and standard Mauser markings over the chamber and on the right side. Many of these military guns will also be found with a German acceptance stamp on the right side barrel flat.
This pistol still retains the original Red 9 grips, but has been reworked to comply with the Treaty of Versailles. Its barrel was cut to 4″, the rear tangent sight was removed, and a notch sight was brazed onto the rear of the gun. It was also stamped with “1920” to indicate compliance with the Treaty. Many of these guns were also refinished at the arsenal when this work was done, but this one appears to have its original finish intact.
This gun then went to a Weimar Era German police unit, being marked on the front of the grip strap with police markings of S. Ma. I 3 147, which translates to Shutzpolizei Marienwerder District, 3rd Centuria of Command 1, gun 147. This number was crossed out when the gun was turned in from police service, and in fact it overwrites another, earlier police marking which is now illegible and obliterated. Often these Weimar era police markings are misinterpreted to be WWI German military unit markings.
On the left magazine flat, the gun is also marked with a cryptic 3/E. 59, which has also been lined out. When this was done, and what significance it has are unknown at this time. We can venture an educated guess that it might mean 3rd Centuria, Eichstaett, gun 59 of the post 1930 Bavarian Police. If so, this would post-date the other police markings cancelled out on the front strap.
The right side flat has an Eagle/SU4 stamp indicating a rework in the early 1930’s by Simson, a German arms company that went out of business prior to WWII. At the time it was reworked by Simson, some parts were replaced, most notably the extractor which is salt blued, not the fire blue found on earlier C/96s.
From the markings, we can be certain that this gun started out life as an Imperial Issued Red 9 in WWI, was then either issued to the “3/E” unit, or to the Marienwerder District, and was then sent to Simson for a rework in the early 1930’s. Where it went from there is pure guesswork, as very few C/96 pistols were legitimately marked with definitive Nazi markings.
The wonderful aspect of collecting guns which passed through so many different hands is that one learns so much while researching them. In researching the markings, we learn about the Imperial German forces of WWI, the Treaty of Versailles, the Weimar Republic, and the building terror of the early Nazi regime. The pistol itself is just an object, but being able to interpret its story, stamped in its steel, is what makes collecting fine old guns so fascinating.
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