Commercial Walther Zella-Mehlis PPK

[Absolut]

It is "just" a commercial Walther Zella-Mehlis PPK, that is in very good condition. However, it has an engraving on the front that I noticed afterwards that made it quite special to me.

"Gegeben vom Oberbürgermeister der Hauptstadt Hannover" translates as "Given by the Lord Mayor of the Capital City Hannover". No idea why it was gifted and to who, I assume maybe a price at a shooting match. But it is nicely engraved and whoever the owner was, he surely bothered to store it safe!

Last two serial digits were digitally removed - it is 215.xxx K serial. Internet indicates this is 1939 - is this correct?

*edit* noted wrong serial block above, correctened

 

[Missourigunguy]

Very cool piece.

 

[slow10ker]

Beautiful PPK ! Love the inscription. Is the mag a later magazine? The black finger extension makes me think it is.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Absolut]

The magazine shoe surely isn't original to it. I also got a magazine without a shoe to it that is only Walther PPK marked, but pictured it with the one that was in it when I got it.

In the meantime I found Walther PPK from 1938 (so a year earlier) with nearly the same engraving that was sold some time ago in Germany: https://www.lot-tissimo.com/de-de/a...0035/lot-25fb5031-9dc9-43e7-890e-a8b801873665 . The engraving on this pistol is just a bit shorter by lacking the "of capital city" and writing Hannover in capital letters only. The most interesting part is that this one has provenance in listing it as having been the prize of the pistol shooting cup of the Political Leaders in Hannover, proven by a copy of a newspaper from 1938.

I'm now researching whether there might also be a newspaper regarding the same cup but in 1939, which possibly could identify who originally had won this pistol. Might be one of the very few cases where the original winner could be identified and the whole story being documented.

 

[heavy_mech]

While it's a sharp looking pistol the inscription and even more the 'story' really makes it for me. It would seem given the size of Hannover that the article from 1939 could be found? Nice piece!

 

[JoeW]

The shooting matches and presentations in 1938 and for this one in 1939 were held during the Gautag days in early May. The Gau shooting matches were final preliminary events to determine the Gau teams to be sent to the National PL shooting matches. Each Gau held such events. I have one of the several PL winning prize PPK for the 1939 Gau Franken match. But the winners of the 1939 matches in each Gau never got to compete in the national matches. As those were held during the Reichs Party Days, the start of WWII cancelled the events.