Missing suffix
 

I was looking at a 1916 DWM military P08 today and was suprised to see the barrel carried a letter suffix, (8285 f), but the frame was only marked 8285.

I can only assume that some time in the past the frame had been buffed and the letter lost. To my untutored eye I didn't see any evidence of buffing, (reblued gun), so it must have been pretty well done ! Is that the most likely answer ?

The frame may have been replaced. I'm sure someone will jump in and help out.

What is the nature of the frame S/N stamping? Does the font, number alignment, and spacing look like a factory stamp or an armorer's hand stamp?

Hi Al. I'm pretty sure it's original, font and stamping look factory and matches the rest of the gun and the frame has the various cryptic letters and numbers on the inside surfaces.

The profile of the front curve of the receiver looks consistent, (no obvious deformation due to metal being removed), I'm just assuming that the letter must have been lost in the refinishing as the most obvious answer. Having said that, quite a lot of metal must have been removed to obliterate it completely !

Stu,

Got pics?

--Dwight

Stu,
does the serial numbers on the frame and the barrel have "halo" marks around the numbers? Do the witness marks line up? Is there an army proof mark and a 9mm mark on the barrel and on the frame? Is the lettering size different than normal on either the barrel or the frame? Are the letters German or American style (open top four, cap and base on the one and so fouth)?
Big Norm

Hi Norm. The gun's been refinished so the 'halo' test is redundant. The witness marks are aligned, normal army proofs, consistent font type throughout gun, no 9mm on barrel, just the usual 8.82, no export / import marks.

I'll try to get some pictures, but the more I think about it the more convinced I am that it got 'lost' in refinishing. The intriguing part is the usual pieces that show metal loss due to pit removal, (like the sideplate), are very crisp !