In 96% very attractive condition, still with the original matching numbered holster stock, we have a top collector grade example of on the the best known pistols of the World War One era the Mauser M1896/12 “Red 9” Broomhandle Mauser. Made in 9 m/m Luger to help simplify ammo supply in the field, the pistol and its identical brother in 7.63 caliber the M1896/12 caused confusion in the ranks when trying to load them properly. To solve this issue a directive in 1917 advised that a red number 9 be carved in the grips of those in the field and factory applied to new production. Our example here is an early 1916 production example and has the number 9 applied in the field. You can see that it is slightly smaller than factory applied numbers. The pistol has an excellent bore and is all matching and factory original. This is a great example of the classic German WW1 Stormtrooper trench cleaner.
This pistol is commonly referred to as the Broomhandle Mauser due to the grip design. It was in 1896, the first really successful semi-auto pistol design and its influence still lingers today. At the outbreak of World War One this was an extremely viable state of the art design that readily filled the role of a high firepower close range weapon to guard artillery and machine gun nests. They were procured from Mauser beginning in 1915 and on a tactical level were used very much like a sub-machine gun in WW2. This pistol and it’s brother the “m1896/12” are one of the most Iconic weapons of WW1 and were a prized war trophy to bring back to show Mom when it was over…..over there!
