[SDC]

This drilling was almost certainly made for Vogt during the 20s, when Germany was desperate to pay off its war debts, and was selling anything and everything it could to try to raise foreign capital (as with the American Eagle Lugers); since Vogt was paying the bill, it could have afforded to specify that it wanted its name on these guns. The normal spot for cocking indicators on these guns is high on the tang, where you could feel the raised pins with your thumb or see them at a glance. Regardless, you've got a very nice example of an odd form of combination gun, and it's in calibres that are obtainable to boot, which is nothing to sneeze at. When WW2 started, Kessler was converted to war production, and after Suhl was overrun by the Russians, they were nationalized with most other producers into a nameless conglomerate, so this gun shows the end of an era for German gunmaking.