Deactivated WW1 Steyr Hahn

This is a Austrian Steyr M1912 pistol. The serial number 8290a 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. The pistol has clearly been scrubbed in an attempt to remove all of its prevoius ownership markings however, just visble are the renmants of the original Romanian Crest with Md.1912 below and the bird-like proof stamp. 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! 

 

This model has some very clever and innovative design features. It was loaded from a stripper clip, as opposed to using a removable magazine, and the barrel rotated on recoil to unlock, a design still used by several modern handguns. Deactivated with a working action.