Turkish FN M1922 rig in 9mm Kurz

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  • mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,338
    Catonsville
    -Quite frequently I find myself one bid short in live and internet auctions. The phrase in the auction world is "knocking at the back door". Back in 2106 I made a run at a very rare Turkish Contract FN 1922 only to come up short.
    -Fast forward to 2019 and I see another come up in a live auction. It's a much nicer example and has a correct Turkish police holster and FN marked spare mag. This time history doesn't repeat itself and it hammers to me at a price under what the winning bidder paid back in 2016. Not for the first time am I happy I lost that first time around!
    -What showed up at my doorstep today is one of 3000 FN 1922s built for the Turkish police during the run-up to WW2. But they never made it to Turkey. The shipment was intercepted by the Germans in the early days of the war and these pistols were issued to German forces with their police holsters. I even found photos of a Turkish Contract pistol captured in Austria by Maj. Dick Winters of Band of Brothers fame.
    -Roughly 30 SNs of Turkish FN 1922s from this contract have been observed and recorded by Anthony Vanderlinden, the Browning/FN author and expert. So they're rare here in the US. Mine being only the second I've seen in the flesh. SNs for this contract were separate from FN SNs, starting at #1 and ending around #3000. The TC SUBAY mark stands for Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Subay or Officer of the Republic of Turkey. I'm not sure if they were issued with a spare magazine as my rig has. The holster is definitely original and in excellent condition. Sports no markings which is true of the 3-4 other holsters of this type that I've seen.
     

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    Jul 1, 2012
    5,712
    Yeah, buddy!
    Hard to find especially in that condition.

    I've seen a few for sale but the planets haven't aligned (so far).

    Is the matching S/N stamped on the barrel somewhere?
    Is there another S/N underneath the slide? (ala the Yugoslavian contract)
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,338
    Catonsville
    Yeah, buddy!
    Hard to find especially in that condition.

    I've seen a few for sale but the planets haven't aligned (so far).

    Is the matching S/N stamped on the barrel somewhere?
    Is there another S/N underneath the slide? (ala the Yugoslavian contract)

    Yes, SN is stamped on the barrel & slide.
    I was shocked at what someone paid for the one that Pre98 had for sale. Wish the photos were still accessible, curious to see what the condition was.
     

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    Jul 1, 2012
    5,712
    Thanks! Wanted to double-check what to look for...
    I was looking at Scotty's when he first listed it, and used it as a reference later, but can't remember the condition.
    "Very sharp" isn't all that definitive...
     

    KH195

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 10, 2013
    1,550
    Virginia
    Another great find!! Beautiful condition too! One of these is on my 'want' list as well. Hope I'm able to track one down half that nice!
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,338
    Catonsville
    Another great find!! Beautiful condition too! One of these is on my 'want' list as well. Hope I'm able to track one down half that nice!

    Of all the German issue pistols of WW2 this is one of the harder ones to find. And even harder to find in good or better condition. The one I bid on at Redding in 2016 was in fair - good condition and had a rough condition holster. At the time I thought I might never have a shot at another. Was very lucky on both occasions though I didn't feel like it first time around!
    BTW, did you see the supposed Japanese issue FN 1922 rig that sold this weekend at RIA? No dai mark, no provenance. Sported a Japanese lanyard and holster. Ended up selling for close to $2k so somebody was comfortable with it as is.
     
    Jul 1, 2012
    5,712
    Well, you inspired me to get off my hiney and get the one I've been looking at for quite a while :)

    Around 92% with some thinning in the blue on slide and front strap, and the usual wear on the muzzle cap. But really nice bore, grips are good w/o worm holes. Missing the actual lanyard ring but the staple is still there. This one isn't listed in Vanderlinen's book.

    These are under-appreciated and under-valued IMHO. If they had a Waffenamt or commercial German proof they'd probably be $2-3k easily (witness the Star B for instance).
     

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    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,338
    Catonsville
    Good find! I'm shocked you tracked this one down so quickly. Shoot me a PM, I'm curious to know where you dug this puppy up as they don't come to market that often. And I agree that if it was German marked the sky would be the limit on value.
    Have been in a long, drawn out search for the right German issue French MAB model D and Unique Model 16 but the right girls haven't come along yet. Hard to find the MAB with decent grips as the originals shrink badly over time and most of the Uniques I come across had hard lives.
     
    Jul 1, 2012
    5,712
    Those MAB-D's have gone up a lot recently, used to be able to find 'em for $400-500 but now almost double that.
    But I'm sure you'll be able to winkle one out of the woodwork eventually :)
    Astra 900 from the German contract is another tough one to find.

    I'd known about this FN1922 for a while, just wasn't in the cards until now.
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,338
    Catonsville
    Those MAB-D's have gone up a lot recently, used to be able to find 'em for $400-500 but now almost double that.
    But I'm sure you'll be able to winkle one out of the woodwork eventually :)
    Astra 900 from the German contract is another tough one to find.

    I'd known about this FN1922 for a while, just wasn't in the cards until now.

    An Astra 900 in any contract in good or better condition has taken off like a rocket. For $1K you used to be able to get a VG condition Chinese contract example, which are common since markets with China opened. They certainly were the red-headed stepchild to the C96.
    But today they're trading in the $2.5 - $3K range. Lord knows what a German contract example would command.

    We'll see if my command of the C&R Force will conjure up a nice German MAB-D for my wish list price of $500-600. Not looking too good but I will admit to having better than avg. luck when I focus on a particular task.
     

    offthepaper

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 7, 2007
    2,637
    Harford County
    Wow!!
    Great find!
    The receipt really adds to the personal value as well, captured by Dick Winters. Leader of the "Band of Brothers" 101st Airborne.
    That alone would float my boat. He passed away about 2 years ago in Hershey, Pa.
    I thought about attending his funeral as I considered him as having a "special" hero status due to his countless acts of heroism, but the family requested that the service remain private.
     

    KH195

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 10, 2013
    1,550
    Virginia
    I’m a few years late to the party but can finally be part of the Turkish contract club. Wasn’t actively looking but jumped at the opportunity when it presented itself!
    IMG_8072.jpeg

    IMG_8071.jpeg
     

    KH195

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 10, 2013
    1,550
    Virginia
    That is nice indeed! How did this one find you?
    Saw a thread on Lugerforums where there was a discussion about one of these up on Gunbroker, a newer member posted “I’ve got one of these I would sell”. I reached out and had a nice conversation with the gentleman, turns out his neighbor inherited it from her father who brought it back from the War and she didn’t want it so gave it to him. He wasn’t very interested in older firearms so I was happy to make an offer!
     

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