^Lot 2318 GERMAN WWI MAUSER C96 BROOMHANDLE SEMI-AUTOMATIC

PISTOL. Cal. 7.63mm. S# 405129. Bbl. 5 1/2". C96 semi-automatic pistol mfg. by Mauser during WWI under contract for the Imperial German military. Top flat of the faceted breech is marked with Mauser's 3-line address, with the S# marked on the left quarter flat, a double crowned "U" commercial proof on the left flat, and an Imperial German military acceptance proof marked on the right flat. Right side of the frame is marked with Mauser's 2-line address. Frame, floorplate, and bbl./bbl. extension exhibit a rust blue finish, with the trigger, safety lever, rear sight slide, and bolt stop exhibiting a nitre blue finish. Bolt and locking block are polished in-the-white. Frame is mounted with 2-piece grooved wood grips and features a lanyard ring on the butt. Fixed blade front sight with tangent V-notch rear sight graduated 50-1000. All serialized parts are matching and include the frame, floorplate, sub-frame, hammer, sear, locking block, bbl./bbl. extension, bolt, and bolt stop. Grips are unnumbered. UNATTACHED ACCESSORIES: Imperially proofed non-matching (S# "719") wood stock/holster. CONDITION: metal components retain the majority of their original blue finish, exhibiting some areas of wear and thinning that are fading to gray patina, some superficial handling marks and scratches, as well as light surface oxidation overall. Nitre blue parts show wear and thinning to gray patina in contract areas, with the rear sight slide exhibiting some light pitting and finish loss. Bore is bright, exhibiting light pitting and some scattered spots of mild pitting, while retaining strong rifling throughout. Proper manual mechanics. Grips show some scattered marks and impressions, but otherwise remain sound. Stock/holster shows numerous scattered marks and impressions from handling and storage, but otherwise remains sturdy and serviceable. Metal fittings show varying degrees of surface oxidation. (25-5268/MLW). CURIO. $1,750-2,500.