The pretty one was made in, going by the serial number and making a couple of specious assumptions about production rates, 1925.
That makes it near contemporaneous with my Colt 1908 Pocket Hammerless in .380, made in 1926.
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Time marches on, though...
The ugly one was made, using the same assumptions, in 1922. But look at how similar in size a SIG-Sauer P238 is to it!
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The size of the Mauser is a little inexplicable. The fact that the design was tweaked slightly and successfully made into a .32 ACP version says something about it being a tad oversized.
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The little FN debuted in 1905, so they did this deliberately. Were they genuinely thinking that this would be a good service pistol? Possibly, since a pistol is most often a badge of rank with lots of armies.
That makes it near contemporaneous with my Colt 1908 Pocket Hammerless in .380, made in 1926.
Time marches on, though...
The ugly one was made, using the same assumptions, in 1922. But look at how similar in size a SIG-Sauer P238 is to it!
The size of the Mauser is a little inexplicable. The fact that the design was tweaked slightly and successfully made into a .32 ACP version says something about it being a tad oversized.
The little FN debuted in 1905, so they did this deliberately. Were they genuinely thinking that this would be a good service pistol? Possibly, since a pistol is most often a badge of rank with lots of armies.