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Old March 27, 2011, 07:48 AM   #4
gyvel
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Join Date: August 30, 2009
Location: Northern AZ
Posts: 7,172
Quote:
In 1943 when the model 1922 was starting to be produced for more than just the Luftwaffe and other specialist units, Germany decided to restart the numbering system. The first 99,999 model 1922s produced had a simple 5 digit serial number accordingly. As they hit number 100,000 however, they restarted the serial numbering system again, adding an "A" suffix, and did so again with "B" after pistol 99999a, etc. So, based on this info, my particular pistol was the 113,523rd one produced. Furthermore, in 1944, they switched the stamping to only the final 4 digits being stamped on the slide instead of all 5.
This is not true. Guns with serial numbers that have letter suffixes are found in blocks interspersed with blocks of full 6 digit numbers. This policy continued into the 200,000 range, but soon was phased out completely and thereafter, all 1922s (or 10/22s, if you prefer) were numbered with "b" and "c" suffixes.

Over the last 40 years or so, I have compiled a list of serial numbers on 1922s that I have observed, and I found the existence of these blocks of serial numbers. Why this practice occurred, I have NO idea.

Unfortunately, the people that could tell us the real reasons are no longer with us.

Here are some examples:

100604, 100983, 102269, (10)3626a, 103693, (10)5105a, (10)7633a, 107757, (10)8019a, (10)9985a, 110462, 111168, 113185, (1)19364a, 121830, (1)23558a, (1)26141a, (1)29045a, 130002, 131995, etc. etc.

The highest 100,000 range guns I have seen were 197396 and 197510, which were both "eagle N" guns, followed by (1)98024a and (1)99775a.

In the "b" (200,000) range: (200)209b, (200)328b, 204337, (20)5956b, 207054, 207238, 210520, 212068, and 217307; thereafter, ALL that I observed were 5 digit numbers with "b" suffix.

I have never seen any 300,000 range 6 digit numbers; They have all had "c" suffixes, the highest I have seen being (3)41797c.

The earliest (.32 ACP) number I have observed is #20014 with WaA 613. Somewhere between 26419 and 28804, a change took place and WaA 103 replaced 613. After that, WaA140 was implemented somewhere between 57723 and 60142.

And, FWIW, the designation of the the Browning guns imported to conform to the GCA of '68 were called Model 10/70, not 10/22. "10/22" is frequently used to describe the Model 1922, as it was originally a modification of the 1910 pistol for a Yugoslavian order in the early 1920s.

Last edited by gyvel; March 27, 2011 at 11:49 AM.
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