Versaiiles red 9 help

[Don M]

Originally Posted by Patronen

Nice R9 with history, congratulations on it if you decide to buy it. Very interesting reading in History Writ in Steel by Don Maus, page 168 chapter 11 with regards to the grip strap marking. It is a police marking from the Precinct Police of Konigsberg.
In the table on that page there is 1917 Erfurt P08 listed that has the exact same mark listed as cancelled.

I agree with Dave on the id but don't let the fact that a P08 had the same inventory number as this C96 bother you. Separate inventory series were used for different models of pistols.

Also, don't worry about the bluing in the police property mark and the lack of a halo. Red Nine C96s were used by the police in the early 1920s unmodified. When it became evident that they would not be replaced immediately by new P08s, they were modified in the mid-1920s to shorten the barrels and make them more appropriate for police use. Many of them had been stamped with a property marking before they were modified, thereby bluing over the property marking.

The pebblegrain holster is entirely appropriate for these shortened C96s. They were issued, especially in eastern Prussia, along with the reworked pistols. Stocks were not used by the police. This is a great rig at a super price.