Renumbered Magazine
 

I recently purchased a 1917 DWM. It has all matching numbers and also has British proof marks. The British proof mark is post 1954, as it is a crown over "BNP". The odd thing about the gun is that it has an aluminum magazine, not the typical wooden magazine. The magazine is numbered to match the gun and also has a small "42" above the 4-digit number. I assume the magazine must be a replacement. Does anyone know why a replacement magazine would be renumbered to match the gun? Would the renumbering have been done by the Germans or by a later gun owner?

Thanks for any help.

The mag in question here is indeed a armory replacement but of WWII vintage. So it's obivious that bubba forced matched the serial number to match the 1917 DWM serial number. The number fonts on the mag are not even close to being correct.

I would like to see a better picture of the base.

Armorers did use replacements and numbered the magazines, although there are many fakes out there and people look for replacement mags, both 42 and eagle 655


Ed

Thanks tenbears and Edward. I have a couple more shots of the magazine...

Since it's an armorer's replacement. I would think it was numbered to match by the armorer. It stands to reason that they would test magines for function, possibly more than one. Once they found one that worked in that particular pistol, they would number it to match.

Ron

although better to see the bottom, I would like a cropped, close up, so I could blow it up. I can't tell if the bottom has been sanded and renumbered or if it is a photo lie :)


Ed

The magazine started out life as an "armorer's replacement magazine' and was not numbered. It was renumbered but a previous US owner to boost the gun. I have never seen any evidence that German miltary armorers numbered magazines. Hundreds, if not thousands, of these 42 and S/42 marked magazines have been ruined by US boosters over the years. What's really a killer is to come across an Erfurt single or double acceptance stamped magazine that has had a bogus serial number added.