Deactivated WWI / WWII Steyr M1912 Pistol

This is a fascinating Austrian Steyr M1912 pistol. The serial number 9361a dates to 1913 as the year of manufacture and was part of a small quantity ordered by the Romanian army from 1913 to 1914. Romania were pro Allied during WWI but then sided with the Nazis in WWII. After the German unification with Austria in 1938, about 60,000 M1912 pistols were re-barrelled for the standard 9mm Parabellum cartridge. These weapons can be identified by the '08' stamped on the left side of the slide. The official German designation was 9mm P12(o). Just visible on the slide are the remnants of the "08" designation. These pistols were then issued within the German army and police units. The pistol has clearly been scrubbed in an attempt to remove all of its prevoius ownership markings. The electro-stencil serial number was then been applied after it was refinished. This practice was most commonly associated with WWII weapons that were captured by the Russians. An intriuging pistol that has seen service with both Allied and Axis forces during both world wars!

Deactivated with a working action.