Vis

Was this a joke?

If it is for real I am rich lol I have 3 phosphate rigs.

I was thinking maybe it was a blued K Block or something but you got me stumped here. Perhaps a typo on input and it was really 2500? Wild.

Oh. My. Lanta.....

No, it’s for real. It’s a second alpha J block. There are only six known in the world and the seventh one came up out of nowhere. Clearly, Rock Island did not know what they had and I doubt very much the owner did either or he or she would have never approved for it to be in the sporting auction. As a Vis Collector , I was very aware of it. It’s likely a $12-$14,000 pistol. 25 grand plus tax plus the premium is a huge price to pay for this. I know the Collector who bought it and it’s something he wanted very badly as did all of us who collect Radoms. Remember, if you can justify the value to yourself as the bidder, then good for you. It’s likely a once in a lifetime piece.

Hey @Northyuma what is the highest known serial number for a second J block VIS? This one being J0231 would suggest that at least 231 of those were made. Thanks!

This is the lowest one known. The other are a couple thousand higher. As the story goes… This particular shipment of Vis pistols, the 2/J Block was on a munitions train when it was attacked by the allies and destroyed. Most of the munitions on board were destroyed with it. Over the years only six other J blocks have come to be known. Really making this one of the rarest Vis pistols. It’s up there with the 2/A phosphate and more rare than any Polish Eagle because you can find those. There are also maybe a dozen or so bnz and blank slides known. So, you can see to a particular Collector how important a variant this is.

Each particular alpha block was made in 10,000 unit groups. So, in theory 10,000 2/J blocks were made. The last letter block to be made of course was the 2/K and those highest serial numbers are in the 9130 to 9150 or so. I have seen some rare variants with varying components of serial numbers higher than 9150 but they are mismatched guns and could be literally last ditch put together or cobble together after the war.

That makes a lot more sense. Thanks for the explanation!

Thanks for the detailed explanation! I would think that there must be more of them out there, but definitely not everone being aware of the fact that these are so rare. I'll keep my eyes open from now on because I bet there must be more of them running around. Did all these second J block have the wooden grips?

PS: I personally know three bnz marked VIS pistols (of which I have had all three in my hands too), and a fourth is listed for sale on eGun for the third time now - way too high starting price! Another one was sold by Hermann-Historica last year in an auction.

This pistol may have been one I acquired in 1975/76. (the ser# 0231 kind of rings a bell). There was a advert in Shotgun News from a guy named Will Hoetzel. He was selling his extensive P35 collection, which either did have (or was close to having) one German made P35 (p) from each letter-bloc/both series plus others. I acquired a 46000 range Polish Eagle, Norwegian "dip-finished "P35(p) / WaA77" accepted Polish Eagle, a NLB KM accepted P35(p), B-range/1st series P35(p), the J-bloc, 2nd series Steyr T3 and K-bloc "bnz" with no slide serrations. If memory serves, think I paid $3K/delivered for the lot. There was another serial number in the slide tunnel which had been lined-out behind the matching J-bloc one on the example I had. Though selling all 13 of my Radoms by 1979 to put a $5K down payment on my first home, I later got back the Polish Eagle from fellow P35 collector Al Hoffmeyer... as about ten years later he had purchased most of my former pistols and more from the collector to whom I sold mine to. I always figured something dire must have happened to the majority of 2nd series, J-bloc P35(p)s and the theory they were destroyed either at a railway yard on en-route would be quite plausible at that time.