mawkie
C&R Whisperer
-Always on the lookout for something to do to kill the six hours waiting while the pups get groomed up in Gettysburg, I usually do a movie, antique hunting or hit a local auction. Yesterday it was a huge antique auction in nearby Carlisle that had two Arisaka T38s, a T99 Substitute and a M93 Lebel rifle.
-The T99 Sub was matching with a struck mum and in good, original condition. But I have more of these than I need so I passed and it sold for a stupid cheap $60! Both of the T38s, a rifle missing a bolt and a carbine with DC, were of no interest to me as they had cancelled mums and the "00" SN prefix designating them as having been retired for training use only. The carbine sold for $180 and I left before the rifle sold, doubt it fetched much.
-What I really wanted was that Tulle M93 Lebel. All good stuff and then some! Condition was very good and there were no signs of an arsenal rebuild of any type as the barrel and stock were both 1904 dated and there was no Balle N mark. What floored me was a total lack of serial numbers and an odd property mark and number stamped onto the stock near the crisp factory cartouche.
-That was more then enough to get me fired up and I was determined to take it home. Got it for $525 OTD, an excellent price for a run-of-the-mill M93 in this condition. Got it home and noticed a small "SE" mark on the barrel that I had missed at the auction. That really got my attention as I've only seen that mark once before: on my prototype M27 carbine. Pulled the forestock to check out the barrel marks and sure enough, SE marks denoting Service d'Etudes. I'm thinking this just might be a factory pattern example as SE marks denote special examples like prototypes and patterns.
-Posted up on GB for Patrick and the real French experts to see what they think it might be. Crossing my fingers that I just might have found another unicorn.
-The day just kept getting better when I stopped by the Gettysburg public library to browse and kill some more time. On display next to the entrance was a like new copy of "The American Foreign Legion - Black Soldiers of the 93d in World War I", marked at $5. It's the history of the 93rd Division who fought under French command at the time when the US Army was still segregated. Should be a fantastic read from what little I already know about the 93rd and their sterling combat record.
-The T99 Sub was matching with a struck mum and in good, original condition. But I have more of these than I need so I passed and it sold for a stupid cheap $60! Both of the T38s, a rifle missing a bolt and a carbine with DC, were of no interest to me as they had cancelled mums and the "00" SN prefix designating them as having been retired for training use only. The carbine sold for $180 and I left before the rifle sold, doubt it fetched much.
-What I really wanted was that Tulle M93 Lebel. All good stuff and then some! Condition was very good and there were no signs of an arsenal rebuild of any type as the barrel and stock were both 1904 dated and there was no Balle N mark. What floored me was a total lack of serial numbers and an odd property mark and number stamped onto the stock near the crisp factory cartouche.
-That was more then enough to get me fired up and I was determined to take it home. Got it for $525 OTD, an excellent price for a run-of-the-mill M93 in this condition. Got it home and noticed a small "SE" mark on the barrel that I had missed at the auction. That really got my attention as I've only seen that mark once before: on my prototype M27 carbine. Pulled the forestock to check out the barrel marks and sure enough, SE marks denoting Service d'Etudes. I'm thinking this just might be a factory pattern example as SE marks denote special examples like prototypes and patterns.
-Posted up on GB for Patrick and the real French experts to see what they think it might be. Crossing my fingers that I just might have found another unicorn.
-The day just kept getting better when I stopped by the Gettysburg public library to browse and kill some more time. On display next to the entrance was a like new copy of "The American Foreign Legion - Black Soldiers of the 93d in World War I", marked at $5. It's the history of the 93rd Division who fought under French command at the time when the US Army was still segregated. Should be a fantastic read from what little I already know about the 93rd and their sterling combat record.
