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Recently aquired High Power, please help me date it.

663 Views 14 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  Burgs, 
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It has a serial # of E0XXXX which appears on the frame, the slide, and the interior side of the chamber.

I've enclose pictures of all the markings I could find.

What I've been able to piece together so far:

It was made in the 1950's based on the position of the serial #'s, and the oldest it could be is 1962, based on the thumbprint and the internal extractor.

I appreciate all help.

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TNorris
Nice Pictures!

Your pistol was made/date stamped in the first quarter of 1951. You can see the #1 in a three sided box on the left front trigger guard. By 1952 this mark was moved to the right side trigger guard.

On the left side, slide and frame, there is a *R. This mark is the "Controller of Proof" mark for Wagemans Sylvain who used the mark *R from 1951 to 1965.

Yours was likely part of a contract to German police... the E prefix serial number was an inventory control by FN for part of this large contract. Some have said the E prefix indicated it was part of a British contract. Recent research says German.

The C.A.I. mark is the mark for the US Importer and applied when it came to the US with probably a large batch of surplus High Powers. Some import marks are less obvious. I have a 1950 High Power which has no import mark and was likely brought home by a US GI who purchased it in Germany.


Cheers,

Tim
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TNorris said:
Nice Pictures!

Your pistol was made/date stamped in the first quarter of 1951. You can see the #1 in a three sided box on the left front trigger guard. By 1952 this mark was moved to the right side trigger guard.

On the left side, slide and frame, there is a *R. This mark is the "Controller of Proof" mark for Wagemans Sylvain who used the mark *R from 1951 to 1965.

Yours was likely part of a contract to German police... the E prefix serial number was an inventory control by FN for part of this large contract. Some have said the E prefix indicated it was part of a British contract. Recent research says German.

The C.A.I. mark is the mark for the US Importer and applied when it came to the US with probably a large batch of surplus High Powers. Some import marks are less obvious. I have a 1950 High Power which has no import mark and was likely brought home by a US GI who purchased it in Germany.


Cheers,

Tim
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Thank you!
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TNorris said:
Nice Pictures!

Your pistol was made/date stamped in the first quarter of 1951. You can see the #1 in a three sided box on the left front trigger guard. By 1952 this mark was moved to the right side trigger guard.

On the left side, slide and frame, there is a *R. This mark is the "Controller of Proof" mark for Wagemans Sylvain who used the mark *R from 1951 to 1965.

Yours was likely part of a contract to German police... the E prefix serial number was an inventory control by FN for part of this large contract. Some have said the E prefix indicated it was part of a British contract. Recent research says German.

The C.A.I. mark is the mark for the US Importer and applied when it came to the US with probably a large batch of surplus High Powers. Some import marks are less obvious. I have a 1950 High Power which has no import mark and was likely brought home by a US GI who purchased it in Germany.


Cheers,

Tim
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Thank you!
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I have one FN E00134 any help on this one?
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TNorris
realoldmedic said:
I have one FN E00134 any help on this one?
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Hello,

Probably the same build date and German Police contract as above. If you are able to post pictures similar to those of Vpelletier, I would gladly take a look. Serial numbers are not reliable for dating early High Powers. My 1950 pistol is SR# 28,*** which is a serial number range that is concurrent with the E-prefix pistols. Mine also likely came from Germany in the same time period, but perhaps was a commercial version, by serial number, and sold through a Rod & Gun club rather than being a German Police issued pistol.

Cheers,

Tim
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TNorris said:
Hello,

Probably the same build date and German Police contract as above. If you are able to post pictures similar to those of Vpelletier, I would gladly take a look. Serial numbers are not reliable for dating early High Powers. My 1950 pistol is SR# 28,*** which is a serial number range that is concurrent with the E-prefix pistols. Mine also likely came from Germany in the same time period, but perhaps was a commercial version, by serial number, and sold through a Rod & Gun club rather than being a German Police issued pistol.

Cheers,

Tim
I have sent it to be refinished
Air gun Trigger Line Gun barrel Gun accessory

Air gun Trigger Wood Mammal Gun barrel
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TNorris
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realoldmedic said:
Tim
I have sent it to be refinished
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I would love to see pictures when it returns!

I think I can make out the number 1 in a three sided box on the trigger guard, left side/front. There is some sort of mark there and that is a typical location for early 1951 pistols for the date code. I can't quite make out the Controller of Proof mark. I hope these marks survive refinishing.

You might find date code marks (a number in a partial box) on the foot of the barrel and the back of the firing pin retaining plate. They will likely be marked earlier than the frame. Pictures attached for reference.

Are you replacing sights with the refinish? The finish on my 1950 was in pretty good shape so I updated her with new parts (SFS, Guide rod) which could be restored to factory original, which is to say I stopped short of having the slide milled for new sights. She is as accurate as any of my other High Powers.

Please replace all of the springs (including the sear spring) and the recoil spring guide rod. If these parts are original, they are far beyond their intended lifespan and must be replaced with new parts.



Cheers,

Tim

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I got it back today

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TNorris
realoldmedic said:
I got it back today
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It looks real nice. It also seems the refinishing has further obscured the date code and controller of proof marks.

If you can post very clear and in focus close up photos of the marks as they now are, perhaps they can be deciphered. It is the left side of the pistol which should contain the most information.
- Left Front Trigger guard
- Left Slide/Frame above trigger/slide stop
- Any marks on foot of barrel, firing pin retaining plate, inside slide...
- you are looking for a number inside a partial box
- the date code on the parts will be earlier than the frame and likely different on each part


Cheers,

Tim
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Left Front Trigger guard = U in the box
the barrel with serial number the box is a 0 firing
pin retaining plate =none
Left Slide/Frame above trigger/slide stop= none
I think it was made 1939
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TNorris
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Your pistol is probably from the early 1950's and it is very unlikely to be from 1939.

The *U (asterisk over U) is the code used to identify Controller of Proof (inspector) Charlier Hubert who used that code from 1923 to 1953. It should be found on the left side of the frame and the left side of the slide, stacked one below the other. By that one bit of information, it possibly could be from 1939 but ..

  • To my knowledge, this date code system (number in a partial box) was not used until after WWll in 1946 when production slowly resumed.
  • There are absolutely no records of High Powers with E prefix serial numbers ever made, except in the early 1950's. Those were part of a contract to Germany.
  • The sights are incorrect for 1939, or even the 1950's.

The marked area on a blowup of your refinished photo below (green circle) may be your date code. If not, it's on the other side in the same location. Often, even new from the factory, they were poorly struck and required some interpretation to decipher. If your barrel is original to the pistol and it has a date code of 1950, it can be presumed the frame was produced and inspected after the barrel... sometimes by several years.

Nice choice of grips. May I presume BHSS did the work for you? If so, it should be in absolutely top shape for shooting. They are my go to guys for everything and are returning a two pistol project to me next week. Picture of the pair attached at the end just for fun. I see the RDIH extended slide release on your pistol but it looks like you did not go for SFS or the BHSS trigger. I have both on all of mine.


Cheers,

Tim




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Burgs
Tim,

You may be the first to have an SFS Girsan PI!
Are you going to to w write up on it? I think we'd ALL like to hear your impressions on it.
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Burgs said:
Tim,

You may be the first to have an SFS Girsan PI!
Are you going to to w write up on it? I think we'd ALL like to hear your impressions on it.
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Burgs,

The picture was taken at BHSS last Friday. It's due to be home by the end of the week after the sights are drifted in and it's been test fired. I will do a show and tell as compared to my FN Alloy/FM Detective.

As a tease, it's a hybrid... a Girsan PI slide mated to a 1981 FN Alloy frame. I bought it specifically for this purpose, just as I picked up the FN Alloy with the intention of sinding another short slide. The cost of the Girsan PI was lower than that of a used FM Detective slide and the FN Alloy cost even less on GunBroker. I had the spare FN slide mated to the Girsan frame as a bonus gun. Should both slides will interchange with both frames, it will be an extra bonus.

I expect it will be as reliable as my Detective and become a new carry option for me. I should have her at the range before the weekend is over.

Cheers,

Tim
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Burgs
Congratulations, I eagerly look forward to your review(s)! You always have the most interesting projects. As soon as I saw the gold trigger, I figured that that BHSS had something to do with it. Now that most of the famous Hi Power and 1911 custom gunsmiths are retiring, we're lucky that BHSS is stepping up to the plate, and with ideas of their own too.
Now, if somebody would only make a Detective/PI size Hi Power in .40S&W! :D
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