DWM Commercial 9mmP

[Kyrie]

Originally Posted by Ron Wood

While some may choose to call this piece a 1920s Commercial, it is at best a "cottage industry" product of that era. Since it bears no proofs it is not a factory made item. Nice looking.

I think I may have to disagree here. When it comes to 1920 Commercial variations we seldom have any hard information on where, by whom, or even the year in which such a variation was made. This example may have been produced by some individual gun smith, or by some small enterprise, or by DWM; the gun itself is ambiguous and we are left to speculate on its origin.

If you care to see the gun as a product of a family run "cottage industry", you may certainly do so, and that's as valid a view as any other.

Also, it might be good to remember that not all factory made guns have proof marks. That's especially true of Germany during the early to late 1920s. That was a time during which law and custom frequently came in a poor second to economic necessity and/or political beliefs and fears. I could actually make a good, if highly speculative (!) case for this gun being one of a short sub Rosa DWM run of sidearms for one of the Freikorps companies, with the shield stamp on the barrel signifying DWM internal proof/Freikorps acceptance.

All this is what makes these darn 1920 Commercial guns so frustrating for people who are made uncomfortable by the unknown. They are, I think, representative of a country for which the wheels have fallen off.

Just my $0.02 worth.