I was intrigued by the date, "November 9, 1944" on the gun. It may or may not be the gun's serial number. I think it has further significance to the original owner.
A little research revealed that this was the day nazi troops were purged from the island of Walcheren; hardly an event a nazi would commemorate. Another more intriguing possibility is this;
November 9th, according to the Pagan Daybook, is the Feast Day of Quatuor Coronati, the Four Crowned Martyrs, an ancient and mysterious celebration recognised both by Freemasons and the Roman Catholic Church (see also Quattro Coronati). It's origins date back to at least the Fourth Century and quite possibly even earlier.
302 November 9 According to Masonic tradition, four mysterious men, now known as the Quatuor Coronati, are said to have been executed in Pannonia, an area of present day Austria southwest of the Danube River. Masonic legends describe the Quatuor Coronati, as four stonemasons, thus the Masonic connection. (Ars Quatuor Coronati, Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, London)
305 November 8/9 According to the Roman Catholic Church, four unknown men are executed during the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Their identities, the reasons for their executions, and even the place of their deaths remain a mystery. The Roman Church later claimed that they were four (possibly five) talented sculptors in the quarries of Pannonia who in 305 had refused to carve a stone image of the Roman god Aesculapius for a pagan temple. For this they were condemned to death as Christians, put into leaden caskets and drowned in the River Save. Later another legend sprang up in Rome, according to which four Christian soldiers (cornicularii) suffered martydom at Rome in 307, two years after the deaths of the sculptors in Pannonia. Their offense was refusing to offer sacrifice to Aesculapius. Both stories lack historical foundation and are merely tentative explanations of the name Quatuor Coronati, a name given to a group of really authenticated martyrs who were buried in the catatomb of Sts. Peter and Marcellinus, the real origin of which, however, is unknown. (The Catholic Encyclopedia)
What does this all mean? I have no idea!!! Any other theories??
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