Browning Late War Pistol

[Larry Lipps]

Guys,
A friend brought over some items from his neighbors. I was able to identify most of the items, but firearms are somewhat out of my league. He had an interesting pistol with a browning patent mark on it that I couldn't identify. Can anyone give me a little background on this pistol and an approximate value.

[Larry Lipps]

Other Side,

[Larry Lipps]

Some of the proof stamps,

[Larry Lipps]

And the holster. Only the strap appears to be leather. The rest appears to be made out of some other material.

[Larry Lipps]

Lastly is the maker's mark on the holster dated 1943.

[james m]

Larry:
What you have there is a Browning Model 1922 pistol in 32 ACP. These were very popular particularly with European Police depts. prior to WW II. When the Germans overran Belgium during the war the production of these was continued along with the Browning HP. The Model 22s were generally issued to back line troops and other units not involved in front line operation due to the anemic caliber. Of course each pistol was inspected and that's why the example you show is Waffen marked.
These pistols continued to be used long after the war by police departments but were eventually retired in favor of more powerful pistols usualy in 9MM. They were also a popular GI bringback and are very common in the US. I have owned several of these over the years and still enjoy taking them to the range for some casual plinking at times.
Prices for these remain modest and I routinely see nice examples at gun shows for under $300. In this case I'd add $100 for the holster. Hope this helps.
Jim

[Larry Lipps]

Thanks Jim, that's what I wanted to know.

[Douglas Jr.]

Hi,

It's interesting to point out that many of such guns also saw service as with aircrews.

Greetings,
Douglas

[ChrisCook]

Fn1922

I have two of these examples, very fun to shoot.... I paid 235$ each for each pistol. Sometimes you can pick them up a little cheaper. IMA has mags on sale right now....10$ each. Chris...

[phild]

I agree that many were used by the Luftwaffe and many are also known to have been procurred by the police and KM as well. They are very fine pistols maybe a little design dated for WWII and large for a .32 but they lend themselves to accurate shooting.

The holster is German Police and IMO was not made for that model pistol but very well may have originally been used to carry it. It looks more in the style of a Mauser 1934 or even a police Sauer Model 38H.
It is a paper and leather holster and is in my opinion pretty scarce if not downright rare. I would suspect that many would pay more for that holster than for the pistol.