SOLD - Rare Japanese Nambu Type 94 rig - First Year Production

Description

5/4/18 - Arguably, this is the rarest variant of the Japanese T94 pistols - first year, 4th month of production, made in August of 1935. This is an early 3-digit serial gun, that is all matching, including the magazine, and comes with a second magazine under a hundred digits off the gun's serial and a beautiful holster with strap. It retains around 96% of its original blue, with just some holster wear and a some light peppering on the right side of the slide towards the muzzle. The bore and grips are in excellent shape as well, with no defects evident. Both mags are correct early nickel plated magazines with flat floor plates. Production of these interesting guns started in May of 1935 (10.5 date of Showa era) and this gun was made in August of the same year. Conceived as a more economical replacement for the Type 14 pistol, it was designed to be of a smaller overall size in order to accommodate the needs of the officers, tank crews and the pilots. Maligned by non-Japanese weapon collectors for many years for its awkward appearance and its diminutive handle, it finally got the reputation it deserved, as only around 70,000 of these were made, compared to nearly half a million of T14's. Survivability was low, given its tank crews and pilot use and probably less than 10-20% of the total production remain in collector's hands. Early examples in such desirable condition come up for sale very rarely.