The pistol pictured on this page is the Model 1930 or M-30. It is the first C-96 variant to have an official factory designation in that the Germans called it the 'Modell 1930'. This particular version of the C96 was only produced between 1930 and 1937.
It is estimated that approximation only 121,000 of these were ever manufactured. The M-30 is a semi-automatic pistol that is chambered for the 7.63 x 25mm Mauser cartridge. The M-30 features a 10 round internal magazine that is fed from the top of the pistol. The grips are made from Walnut. The M-30 is nearly identical to the Prewar Commercial C96 except for some small changes which included the introduction of the new universal safety. The Mauser company never sold a new firearm as a 'prewar commercial' as this terminology is modern, but it is widely used by collectors to help them in the understanding of the many different variations of the C96 pistol. The C96 series of pistols were manufactured from 1896 to 1936. This semi-automatic pistol design was one of the first to see widespread use. The main features that distinguish the C96 from other semi-automatic pistol designs is the location of the integral box magazine which is in the front of the trigger, the long barrel, the wooden shoulder stock which can double as a holster and carrying case, and a grip shaped like the end of a broom's handle.
This grip shape earned the C96 the nickname 'Broomhandle'. The C96 was designed by the Feederle brothers, Fidel, Friedrich and Josef Feederle and known then as the P-7.63 or 'Feederle Pistol'. It was later renamed by Paul Mauser to the 'Mauser Military Pistol' in the hopes that the pistol would achieve large scale sales by its adoption as an official German military issued sidearm or for that matter, a sidearm officially issued to the military of any nation. The only time that the C96 was officially used by the German army was in WWI. During this time, the Imperial German Army contracted with Mauser for the manufacture of 150,000 C96 pistols that were chambered for the 9 mm Parabellum.
This variation of the C96 was called the 'Red 9' after a large number '9' was burned and painted red into the grips. This was done to prevent the users of the pistol from loading them with 7.63 mm ammunition by mistake. Of the 150,000 pistols commissioned by the German Imperial army, approximately 135,000 were eventually delivered before the war ended. Within a year of its introduction, the C96 pistol had been sold not only to many different governments, but also commercially to civilians and military officers from around the world.
As a military sidearm, the pistols saw service in various conflicts around the world including colonial wars, World War I, the Spanish Civil War, the Chaco War, and World War II, among other places. In 1897, the Ottoman Turkish government purchased thousands of C96 pistols. In 1899 the Italian navy purchased 5000 C96 pistols. The C96 was sold to Russia in large quantities. The Chinese used the C96 in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War as well as during WWII. The C96 was used by the Indian revolutionaries during the Indian independence movement. Leaders like Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad, Asfhaqulah Khan, Sukhdev Thapar and others used Mausers that were smuggled in from China.
The C96 Mauser was favored by the Jewish armed guards in the Ottoman Palestine and the paramilitaries of Haganah during the British Mandate of Palestine. Even Winston Churchill favored the C96 Mauser, and used one at the Battle of Omdurman and during the Second Boer War. Lawrence of Arabia is on record as carrying an ex-Turkish Army Broomhandle Mauser. The list of places and the peoples that used this firearm design or a variant thereof is nearly endless. Even today, this pistol turns up in movies on TV and in the big screen. The Star Wars fans out there may notice a huge resemblance between the C96 pistol and the BlasTech DL-44 heavy blaster pistol that Hans Solo and Luke Skywalker used, except that their pistol had a lot of futuristic gadgets attached to it.
All of the Mauser manufacturing and corporate records that were retained at the Mauser plant was destroyed in 1945, by order of the U.S. Army officer in command at the captured Mauser plant.
Since all of the records were destroyed, many collectors of the C96 Mauser have tried to date their Mauser by the serial number, but many of those attempting to do so have run into a dead end. During the early years of C96 production, the Mauser pistol was not popular and sales were slow. In an attempt to encourage more sales, Mauser skipped blocks of serial numbers to make it appear that more pistols had been sold than was actually the case.
To make it even more difficult for the collector of the C96. It appears that some attempt was made by Mauser to fill in these blocks of serial numbers in later years. Although it does not stop there, pistols that were made under contract were usually(but not always) serial numbered in their own series, beginning with number '1'.
What I am trying to convey is that pistols which might appear, based on their serial number, to have been made early may in fact actually have been made much later. The reverse also holds true. All firearms tend to evolve over the years of its production. These changes are done for a variety of reasons, such as to improve function or appearance, to save on both production costs and time and so forth. This holds true for the C96 Mauser as a large number of changes were made in its 40 year production history. This included not only the above mentioned changes, but also the size and font of the markings and where they were stamped on the pistol and the shape and physical size of some of the parts. For example, at least four different types of safeties were produced, and even the milling patterns on the frames had changed over time.
Knowing when some of these changes were made can help the collector learn the history of his particular C96. Trying to date a C96 by the parts that is found on it is not with-out problems either. There are instances when Mauser would make a change to the C96 and produce several hundred to several thousand pistols with these new changes and then revert back to the old way of making pistols. Then after a few dozen or a few thousand was made, they would then go back to making the pistols with the changes from earlier. It will appear to the researcher that Mauser had found a dusty box of forgotten parts in some corner of their warehouse and used these parts until they ran out at which point they would go back to the normal production of the C96.
Now to even add insult to injury, did I mention that the Chinese made a copy of the C96 and stamped them with the Mauser logo and markings? What I am trying to say is that it is often next to impossible in many cases to determine the actual year of manufacture for a particular C96 Mauser. Being that this is the M-30 version of the C96 we know that it was made some time between 1930 and 1937.
Going by some of the parts that are installed on this pistol as well as the location of the serial number and other stampings, this pistol turns out to be on the late side of the early version of the M-30. So a rough guess would put the year of manufacture at or near 1933 or 1934. The picture on the left is a marking that is on the right side of this pistol.
The marking reads as follows, WAFFENFABRIK MAUSER OBERNDORF A. Then under that is the D.R.P.u.A.P. The marking 'WAFFENFABRIK MAUSER OBERNDORF A.
NECKAR' translates to Mauser Weapons Factory in Oberndorf on the river Neckar. NECKAR' is an important marking as there are several Oberndorfs in Germany and Austria, but there is only one Oberndorf on the river Neckar in Germany. The letter 'A.' Is an abbreviation of the German word 'am' meaning 'on'. The 'D.R.P.u.A.P.' Stands for Deutsches Reichs-Patent und Auslandische Patente which translates to German Patent and Foreign Patents Indicating that the pistol has patent registration in Germany and in foreign countries.
The picture on the right is found directly on the opposite side of the pistol from the markings in the left photograph and is of the Mauser logo. Mauser used two different style of banners on the M-30 pistols that have been classified by collectors as an early style and a late style. The Mauser logo seen in the right photograph is the early style and exactly the same as the logo that is stamped on the wooden holster at the top of this page. Please to see both sides of this holster. The photograph on the left is of the three small Chinese ideographs stampings that indicate 'Made in Germany'. The first two characters on the left go together and translate to 'Germany', while the one at right is 'manufacture'.
This marking is found on the left side of the magazine. At the present time, I do not know what the marking in the right picture indicates. The photograph on the left is of the number 11 in a circle. At this time I do not know what this marking should indicate.
The photograph on the right is a picture of a crown over the letter U stamp. This stamping which became law on April 1, 1893 is the final or definitive proof. This mark has not been in use since the proof law of 1939 became effective in Germany. The new proof law appeared in the Reichsgesetzblatt(Reich Law bulletin) No. 126 on July 15, 1939. The new proofing law stuck with the old concept that no small arm which has not been proofed by a state recognized proof house can be brought into general commerce and cannot be sold if it does not bear appropriate proof marks.
Each firearm that has passed proof firing must be marked with the suitable mark or stamp. The new proof law calls for marking each of the important parts on a firearm that underwent proof firing, and the parts of the firearm that underwent separate proofing must be marked with the appropriate stamp after passing the tests. The marking on the top of the barrel flat which is directly over the chamber reads as follows, 'WAFFENFABRIK MAUSER OBERNDORF a/N' which translates to Mauser Weapons Factory in Oberndorf on the river Neckar. The 'a/N' is an important marking as there are several Oberndorfs in Germany and Austria, but there is only one Oberndorf on the river Neckar. The photograph on the right is of the rear tangent sight that is calibrated from 50 to 1000 meters. As with a lot of the Mauser C96 or M-30 parts, there was numerous different variations that were produced. Notice on this rear sight that there is no 900 meter mark and that the 1000 mark is read from the left side of the pistol.
Other variations of the C96 pistol to include the late Prewar Commercial, Wartime Commercial, Postwar Bolo and some M-30 pistols have the 1000 mark being read from the right side of the firearm. In other words, the 1000 meter mark has been rotated 180 degrees from the picture above. All of these different C96 pistols sights including the one featured on this web page appear with the bimodal curve ramp. These next two photographs show both the left and right side of the M-30 lock frame. To give the reader an idea of where this part is found on the firearm, the hammer is the blued item on the far right edge of the photograph on the left.
As the reader can tell, a lot of hours were put into the production of these C96 style pistols. It has often been stated with other firearms made in yesteryear, that if a similar item was produced today, it would put the price tag far beyond the reach of the average shooter or collector. The photograph on the left is another unknown marking. This one was found on the back of the hammer.
It is difficult to fully bring out this mark in a photograph but it could consist of two interlaced letters, 'M' and 'W' which might stand for 'Mauser' and 'Werke', Or is it a Chinese character? At this time it is still a mystery. The photograph on the right is a close up of a marking that is found on several of the parts on this M-30. This picture is actually a close up of the picture on the left from above. The mark can be seen on the far left of the lock frame in that picture.
I do not know what this marking should indicate but at a guess and since it is found on many of the parts, my first impression is that it is some type of inspectors mark. These old items will speak to us in their own way and will tell us their history. Although it is difficult at times to fully understand exactly what it is they are trying to tell us. When this happens we must put our nose to the grindstone and dig into the research of the item. This is where I am at now with this item and will report back when I have uncovered some more of the mystery of this particular M-30 pistol. Resource: German Handguns by Ian Hogg German small arms markings by Joachim Gortz & Don Bryans The standard directory of proof marks by Gerhard Wirnsberger Official guide to gunmarks by Robert Balderson Mauser military rifle markings by Terence Lapin Handbook of military rifle marks 1866-1950 by Richard Hoffman & Noel Schott.
SOLD FOR: $2,295.00 LSB#: 150825JL18 Make: Mauser of Orberndorf on the river Neckar Model: 1896 “Red 9” Persian Contract Configuration Serial Number: 64003 Year of Manufacture: 1916-1918 Caliber: 9mm Luger / Parabellum / 9x19mm Action Type: Single Action, Semi-Automatic, Internal Magazine Fed Pistol. Markings: The top of the barrel is marked “WAFFENFABRIK / MAUSER / OBERNDORF A/N”, the left shoulder is marked “64003”, the left side is marked with double crown over “U”. The right side of the slide is marked “P.R. 55.” which we believe to be a Prussian unit marking and a crown over “J” acceptance mark. The bottom of the barrel is marked with a six pointed star and the numbers “5 / 2 / 6 / 6” with an “S” and crown over “M” military acceptance mark. The top of the bolt stop is marked “4003”, The top of the bolt body is marked with two crowns over “U” and “4003”. The back of the small ring hammer is marked “NS” (new safety) and “003”.
The back of the lock mechanism frame is marked “64003”. The back of the frame is marked “64003” and a “B”. The right side of the frame is marked “WAFFENFABRIK MAUSER / OBERNDORF A.
The rear sight is graduated from 50 to 500 yards with hash adjustment marks. The insides of the grip panels are marked “64003”. Barrel Length: 5-1/2” Sights / Optics: The front sight is a fixed blade that is set into the front of the barrel. The rear sight is a V notch atop a late model sliding elevator that is correct to the Prussian contract, with 50 to 500 yard adjustment marks.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are dark stained walnut panels with 26 grooves, branded with the number “9” which is colored red. The panels have compressions, scratches and scuffs throughout. The grips rate in about Very Good overall condition. Type of Finish: Blued Finish Originality: All Original Bore Condition: The bore is dull and the rifling is clearly defined with some wear.
There is pin-prick surface erosion the length of the bore. Overall Condition: This handgun retains about 32% of its metal finish. The finish is worn and thinning on the barrel, frame and smaller components. There is wear on the interacting metal components. Areas of exposed metal have a brown patina as photographed.
The pistol has rough finishing, as is indicative of Prussian contract Mausers. The grip frame screw head is lightly tooled but highly serviceable. The markings are crisp. Overall, this handgun rates in about Very Good condition.
Broomhandle Mauser Serial Number List
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this handgun. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards. Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None.
Our Assessment: This is a 1916 Prussian Contract Mauser of Oberndorf (on the Neckar river) with all matching numbers and a very strong action. The slide has a unit designation of “P.R. 55” and having been produced during the First World War, it probably has a very interesting history. It has a late trigger, 2-lug firing pin (serial numbers 35,000 and on), extractor (40,000 and on), New Safety marking and small ring hammer. The grips panels feature a red number 9 relieved into the walnut grip panels, that have 26 grooves. From: “Guns for this contract were made from 1916 to 1918. The popular modern term is Red 9.
This was a wartime military contract for 150,000 guns, perhaps 137,000 of which were delivered before the contract terminated with the end of the war. Despite occasional statements to the contrary, these were not prewar guns reworked to 9 mm.
Except for the relatively poor finish, they are identical to the Wartime Commercial, with these specific exceptions. 9×19 mm caliber rather than 7.63 mm, 50-500 meter tangent sight, Small clearance relief cut out of top of cartridge follower, 24 (approximately) groove walnut grips panels, usually with a “9” carved or branded in and painted red, Government acceptance mark on right side of barrel, over chamber (Note that the presence of a Government acceptance stamp is not diagnostic of the 1916 Contract. Any gun bought by the government might have that mark.
I have seen it on Prewar Commercials which were otherwise unmarked and unmodified – and were still chambered in 7.63 mm)”. This pistol is chambered in 9mm, is a C&R and one can legally purchase and utilize a wooden shoulder stock!
Mauser Broomhandle Red 9 Serial Numbers1896 Mauser Broomhandle Serial Numbers
Please see our eBay auctions, as we receive these stocks from time to time. The bore is shootable, but the collectors will probably want this one. Lock, Stock and Barrel Investments specializes in the acquisition and sale of firearms, firearms paraphernalia and military / war memorabilia.
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So I've learned a lot about this red 9 I inherited from Grandpa, but most of all I've learned that there is infinite variability in broomhandle values based on different condition characteristics. That is why I leave it to the collected wisdom of the firearms forum to shine a light on the subject. A few things I do know.
It is a genuine red 9; it has the proper magwell follower, is in the proper serial range for a red 9, and has the appropriate 50-500M sight leaf. Oh, and it fires 9mm rounds. It is an early import, marked only 'Germany', no other importers' marks. No imperial eagle mark. It has been re-blued at some point. It is obviously missing the 'Red 9' markings on the grips, but they are stamped on the inside with serials matching the rest of the gun, so they are original.
All the numbers match except for the bolt stop (that's the little button on the right side of the upper, right?), and the sight slide button has been replaced at some point. That's all the bad. The good is that it is complete, almost completely numbers matching, it fires (I had to try it out!) and is pretty accurate.
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So, the $64,000 question (or $64). What's it worth? Yeah, I still haven't figured out the grips. They're stamped on the inside with matching numbers, so i'm sure they're original, and they don't look like they've been sanded enough to take out the grooves- they still match the contour of the frame; if they'd had grooves sanded off, they would have wound up smaller since the grooves are the same depth all around. Also it looks like some kind of badge or insignia was affixed over the grip screws at some point, you can see where a circular impression is left and indentations from three prongs. I didn't expect it to be worth a ton, but that estimate was actually quite a bit lower than I expected. What specifically about the condition places it into the budget shooter category?
EDIT: I see now that there were some red 9 grips that had grooves that didn't go edge-to-edge, so they could indeed have been sanded off. That sounds a little more like it.
But I have to differ on the the grips being the most positive identifier. In fact, the grips are the most faked part of red nines because they're the the easiest part to fake. I understand many re-bored broomhandles wind up with re-pro 'red nine' grips because they're more desirable.
I have no doubt it's a real red nine (more accurately, a 'Prussian contract broomhandle'), but I hadn't found good info on what a 'shooter-grade' (refinished, not completely matching) real Nine would go for. That's really what I'm looking for here. I agree that the 'Red 9' grips are often faked and I have even seen them on 7.63mm pistols being peddled as 'genuine Red 9'. Apparently the seller either didn't know or figured his prospective buyers wouldn't know what the '9' part meant. Still, the grips really are the primary means of identification (what do you look at first if shown a 'Red 9' pistol?) so the sanded grips have reduced the value. If selling that gun, I would leave it as is.
The grips could be replaced with repros, but repro parts always cast doubt on the honesty of the whole gun, so I would leave things as they are. Let's see, The serial range is right, the magazine follower is right, the rear sight is right, can't tell from the pictures if it is or isn't a resleeve and also can't see the right side of the receiver for the acceptance mark. So far, the only thing that can be verified as possibly not right are the grips, and even these might be OK. So what is clueing you that the gun is not a valid Prussian? (Only a fake would be worth as little as 400-600.) If you want to analyze a mystery C96, I have a pretty much Standard Pre-war Commercial except that it has been resleeved to. The front sight has been replaced with a much taller one and the rear sight tangent curves have been reconfigured for the new front sight.
The mystery is that nearly all of the German proofs have been removed and the gun re-proofed with Belgian proofs. (I've got pictures if you are interested.).
See, if I was handed a supposed Red 9, the first thing I'd look at is the sight. A replacement is a few hundred dollars if you can find one, so that's unlikely to be used to 'force' a fake 9. Then I'd look at the follower since it's a detail part that someone probably wouldn't even think to fake. Does anyone with a broom with unaltered grips feel like taking them off and putting them between some calipers to measure thickness? I'm certain they were standarized by those uber-efficient Germans, so a thickness measurement could give me an idea of if they were sanded. I know some have been found without the '9' on them, but I've not seen one without the grooves.
Anyone else want to chime in on estimated value? I'm still having a hard time with $600, I don't think I could even find a chinese shooter for that much.
I mentioned earlier I have what I call a 'Belgian C96'. This gun is a bit of a mystery in that it appears to have been completely reworked by the Belgians.
All German marks, but one, have been removed and replaced by Belgian proofs. The grips appear to be after-market 12 line.
The gun has an un-numbered rear sight that has the 900 meter setting. It also has the safety lever with the hole in it, but has a NS hammer correctly numbered to the gun. The Bolt Stop and Sear are mis-matched and the Locking Block is not numbered, but is marked with large “R” (Replacement?) All other numbers match. The only German mark (Crown over U) is on the bolt. The barrel has been relined to 30 Mauser.
(At first I thought that it may have been a Red 9 that was altered because of the treaty rules that limited 9mm possession by Germany. But that didn't pan out.) As can be seen, the front sight has been raised considerably. Not clearly shown is that the rear sight tangent rails have also been altered, apparently for a different trajectory of some sort.) I haven't fired the gun so I don't know if the sights are anywhere close. Here are some pictures.
(The one on the right is the one under discussion. The other is a standard war-time commercial.) Barrel Liner: Left of Chamber: Right of Chamber: Bottom of Barrel: Top of Frame: Backstrap mark: Anyone have any ideas just what the history of this piece might be???. The Firearms Forum is on online community for all gun enthusiasts. Join us to discuss firearms of all kinds, gun accessories, legal issues and more. Membership is free and we welcome all types of shooters, whether you're a novice or a pro.
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