1911 Erfurt firing pin question.
 

Hi all,

Would a 1911 Erfurt's firing pin be marked to the pistol and have an acceptance stamp?

All the other parts are properly stamped and matched to the pistol.

thanks,
Richard

Firing pins were numbered and inspection marked, the retainers were also inspection marked but unnumbered.
Regards, Norm

Thanks Norme,
Now I have another question. If a pistol is advertised as a 1911 Erfurt all matching and the firing pin is neither marked or matched and the retainer is not marked, would the pistol be all matching?

Next, what would be the impact on the pistol's collectibility?

Richard

Hi Richard, No, it would not be all matching, and yes, it would affect collectibility and value. How much would depend on the pistol's condition. A non original small part would have very little affect on the value of a low grade gun, but would be a serious hit to a high end collectible.
Regards, Norm

Hi Norme,

I went back to the pistol and looked more carefully armed with a really high powered loop. Well, I am relieved to find there is both a serial number and an acceptance stamp on the pin; but, it is a very light strike. The light has to hit the metal at an angle and then the serial number and stamp reveal themselves and the SN is marked to the pistol.

The retainer is also stamped. In my concern over the firing pin, I did not look at it carefully. The mark on the retainer is a better strike but it too is shallow.

I am surprised that such a stamp crazed arsenal like Erfurt would have allowed light strikes to pass; but, I guess it was good enough for government work (no offense to any federal employees who might be reading this...just a joke :) ).

Richard

I have tried to capture the serial number and stamp on the firing pin.

The stamp is a crown K (I think); while the SN is 16 which is correct to the pistol. Hopefully, these pictures show how faint the strikes are. I just hope folks can see them.

When I tried to view the pictures below, I found that double clicking and opening in a separate window zooms.

Richard