Abulg1972
Ultimate Member
Well, less than 18 hours after I publicly proclaimed that I had made my last C&R purchase of the year, an opportunity presented itself that I couldn't pass on. I've been watching an unissued Argentine Mauser Model 1909 without a crest on the broker for at least 4 auction cycles. This isn't a rifle that had its crest scrubbed - it never had a crest. The seller started with a BIN of $1,250 with a reserve. He got a few bids but nothing close to his reserve. He cycled it at that price and then cycled it at successively lower prices when he relisted. His most recent listing had a BIN of $700 with a start price of $500 (but with a reserve). I suspected that his reserve was $600 but never confirmed that. I collect Argentine Mausers and this is one of the cleanest, prettiest ones I've ever seen, so of course I was interested in it when he first posted it. In an attempt to figure out what the heck it was and how it got the way it was, I sent him an e-mail asking for additional pictures, which he promptly sent. They showed a nice, clean, unissued M1909 and nothing else. So, I turned to Webster's book and some die-hard Mauser collectors in hopes of finding some answers, but no such luck. Over the course of the several auction cycles, the seller and I maintained some correspondence. I helped him with his listing by advising him to add more pictures (his original listing had only one picture), and I gave him some additional thoughts on what I thought it was.
So fast forward to last night . . . I was reviewing my "watched" items on the broker and saw it, so I decided to e-mail him and ask whether the rifle had any import marks or anything odd on the receiver that might help to identify it. We exchanged a few emails in which he told me that he is moving to New York and "can't take it with me." I ended the discussion with "that's a shame". This morning, he sent me an e-mail that said, essentially, I need to offload this thing and if you give me $600, it's yours. That still seemed kind of pricey to me for a rifle with a history that isn't documented and will likely never be discovered. After thinking about it for a while and confirming that everything matched and that there was no import mark, I decided to offer him $550 . . . which he accepted.
This particular rifle is from the last block of rifles made under the last contract (1911) for the M1909. Interestingly, Webster's book shows that the serial numbers of the later rifles made under the 1909 (year) contract overlapped with the serial numbers of the early rifles made under the 1911 contract, which is odd. Aside from having no crest, this rifle does not have the Ricchieri adapter for the M1891 bayonet that would have been installed on a M1909 accepted into Argentine service. However, oddly, the stock and the hand guard have the Argentine acceptance proofs. This one is a real mystery to me, but given all of the foregoing and that Argentina had a history of supplying arms to neighboring countries, my best guess is that this rifle was intended for export but never found its way to its new owner and was ultimately taken back or accepted by the Argentine army, never to be issued or used.
As is, without any history, it probably has zero collector value, and I definitely rolled the dice on this one. I don't know, but something in my gut tells me that I will discover some interesting information one day. Regardless, I think most of us would be hard-pressed to find a modern rifle that matches this one for $550. I haven't decided whether I'll shoot it. It's almost too perfect to do that. Enjoy.
So fast forward to last night . . . I was reviewing my "watched" items on the broker and saw it, so I decided to e-mail him and ask whether the rifle had any import marks or anything odd on the receiver that might help to identify it. We exchanged a few emails in which he told me that he is moving to New York and "can't take it with me." I ended the discussion with "that's a shame". This morning, he sent me an e-mail that said, essentially, I need to offload this thing and if you give me $600, it's yours. That still seemed kind of pricey to me for a rifle with a history that isn't documented and will likely never be discovered. After thinking about it for a while and confirming that everything matched and that there was no import mark, I decided to offer him $550 . . . which he accepted.
This particular rifle is from the last block of rifles made under the last contract (1911) for the M1909. Interestingly, Webster's book shows that the serial numbers of the later rifles made under the 1909 (year) contract overlapped with the serial numbers of the early rifles made under the 1911 contract, which is odd. Aside from having no crest, this rifle does not have the Ricchieri adapter for the M1891 bayonet that would have been installed on a M1909 accepted into Argentine service. However, oddly, the stock and the hand guard have the Argentine acceptance proofs. This one is a real mystery to me, but given all of the foregoing and that Argentina had a history of supplying arms to neighboring countries, my best guess is that this rifle was intended for export but never found its way to its new owner and was ultimately taken back or accepted by the Argentine army, never to be issued or used.
As is, without any history, it probably has zero collector value, and I definitely rolled the dice on this one. I don't know, but something in my gut tells me that I will discover some interesting information one day. Regardless, I think most of us would be hard-pressed to find a modern rifle that matches this one for $550. I haven't decided whether I'll shoot it. It's almost too perfect to do that. Enjoy.
Great find, I would have bought it also.
