I believe that this pistol provides a very interesting foot note to the Weimar era. It's a Navy pistol that was "turned-in" and therefore property marked with the "1920". Subsequently it was put into the export market because it was felt to be surplus or not needed within the new Reichsmarine/Reichswehr system. It was designated for surplus sales, not because of barrel length but, because of real need.
Given the tiny size of the Reichsmarine, there was no need for this pistol and many, many thousands more. With outrageous war reparations to pay it did its final service to the Fatherland by helping to pay down the onerous debt the Germans were saddled with by the allies.
I think it would be very interesting to know the actual path these many surplus guns flowed through in Germany before ending up on the international market. Was DWM a major part of the export chain or were there many small entrepreneurial concerns who bought military wares to export?
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