GUN FALL 2016
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, October 4, 2016.
MAUSER C96, EXQUISITELY ENGRAVED PRE-WAR COMMERCIAL WITH SPECIAL GRIPS TOGETHER WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY BURL STOCK. MAUSER C96 87807 7.63 MM MODERN; C&R; IMPORT Cal. 7.63mm. Pre-war Commercial with 5-1/2" bbl having a fixed front sight and a slip-in 50-1000 rear sight. Short extractor and 2-lug firing pin. Chamber with usual address. Full SN on left chamber flat. Crown/Crown U on left side of bbl extension. Usual 2-line address on right side of frame. Wonderfully detailed embellishment with floral motif covers the entire bbl extension and each side of the frame, resembling the engraving pattern of factory commemorative C96 SN 120,000 (see Schroeder "System Mauser" p197). In many cases, the background is made of scribed lines that accentuate the surrounding decoration with much more impact than the usual matte or dotted matrix. Royal presentation is suggested by the large Crown surmounting the scriptic U applied to the floorplate. Complimentary engraving has been tastefully applied around the front sight and muzzle with linear accents on the front and backstrap. Detailed disassembly shows all matching numbers including the grips whose fine checkering is border with silver wire with bone highlighting, an embellishment that could not have been added to standard grips. Major components are rust blued. The extractor, slight cursor, bolt stop, safety and grip screw are fire blued. Trigger is strawed. Lanyard ring present. Fabulous burl wood veneered stock. An ebony inlay borders the lug with extension to a 1/4" strip that extends over the top of the stock. Hinge and lug delicately engraved in a foliate pattern with complementary decoration of all screws. PROVENANCE: Collection of Dr. Geoffrey Sturgess. CONDITION: Over 99% bright rust blue with only the most minute wear around muzzle and edge of the floorplate. No discernible wear on front or backstrap except where in contact with stock lug. Fire blue at least 95% with fading on extractor. Strawed trigger with minimal discoloration. Comparable condition grips having most varnish and sharp diamonds. No discernible inlay-related losses. Generally bright bore with shallow rifling. Perfect manual mechanics. Outstanding stock with accented burl splitting and with restored metal finish (on stock only). 43475-49 LMA (15,000-30,000)