Steyr Hahn M1912 German Police issue

[mawkie]

-Lord this one took forever to acquire with me constantly coming up short in a effort to add a German Police issue Austrial Steyr Hahn Model 1912 in 9 x 19 to the collection. Finally had to open up my tight wallet to get it when the reality that a super duper bargain find was not in the cards. But enough whining and onto the show.
-After the annexation of Austria by Germany in the late 30s Steyr Hahns were converted from 9mm Steyr (9x21mm) to their standard 9x19mm for German police issue. I've seen two different sources claim the total converted to be either 14,000 or 23,000. I tend to lean towards the 23K number as published by Josef Motz and Joschi Schuy in their massive reference work on Austrian pistols. The slide was stamped "08" to denote the conversion along with an E/N on the left slide and E/L on the right. The lanyard loop is also marked LGK/NO/950. It's a Gendarmeriestempel (military police) mark for Landes Gendarmerie Kommando. Still working on what the "NO" denotes.
-This 1919 dated example appears to have been arsenal refinished, which isn't all that unusual for these. I had previously found a nice M1912 holster, a GI bring back with his name Sgt B. McSweeney penned in the inside of the flap along with faded factory ink stamps. I had originally thought this holster had housed a Roth Steyr but it also came with a couple of loaded Steyr Hahn stripper clips in the integrated ammo pouch. So that, along with the perfect fit of the SH, pretty much confirmed that this is the holster to call home for this pistol.

 

[Doctor_M]

When I grow up, I want to be like you! Awesome find (and your photography has always impressed me too).

 

[somd_mustangs]

That turned out quite well !
These are indeed hard to find in good shape and at a reasonable price.
Mine is the virtual twin of yours, not very far away number-wise in the early Z block. It has the same arsenal rework 1930 date and proofs on the right trigger guard too, with LGK-OO on the right side of the lanyard loop and 354 on the left. Maybe the "NO" and "OO" are unit designations like company, squad, whatever? (pics taken by the guy I got it from).

A composite I made for S&G's...

 

[somd_mustangs]

On yours, the original W-n 19 (1919) stamp is still pretty clear under the W-30.
On mine you can still see what looks like a "20" (1920) underneath but you have to squint.

 

[mawkie]

Thanks somd_mustangs for the photos and info! Only my second M1912, the first being a badly refinished example that I bought as a young pup and mechanically restored to reliable shooting condition. Back in the 80s I was more concerned with shooting my collection. That reached a pinnacle with my really rough C96 that was such a mess mechanically. Had to replace damned near every part of the bolt and trigger assemblies, including a fractured bolt stop. That one came out of China and had led a crazy hard life. Luckily this Steyr seems to have been well kept after the factory rework.

 

[KH195]

Really nice and clean example! For as many of these that were supposedly converted they don’t seem to come up quite as often as I’d expect.

 

[mawkie]

I can think of at least four occasions over the last 15 yrs where I came up short on one of these, like Bucky chasing his tail. The one that hurt the most was @ Redding where Mr Redding was just ready to gavel it for me @ $700 when some smartass jumped in and pushed the bid past what I was comfortable with. Then the salt in the wound came later when KH195 and somd_mustangs both told me I dropped out way too early. That lucky buyer got it for $850, which was around $200 below market, which I was unaware of. Knowledge is king and I was a pauper that day on that lot. Oh well!