This pistol belongs to a friend, whose father brought it back from Europe decades ago. I don't remember when or where. I'll find out Sunday hopefully and add that info if it helps.
All serial numbers match, and they are somewhat lowish, I think: 317XX.
There are marks on each part. Every part that's big enough has a 6 in a square. In several places there is a 3, or it might be a J that's underlined.
The Belgian proof mark is on the slide, frame and barrel (see the photos): the lion above a line with PV underneath. There's also the inspector's stamp on the slide, barrel and frame: a G with a star (5-point, not an asterisk) over it.
I'm curious if the stamp on the barrel will help further identify the pistol. It looks like an oval with a crown on top. The oval has an E on top, LG on the next line, and maybe a star at the bottom.
Fit and finish are remarkable. This pistol could not have been fired much. I took it down, cleaned up a little surface rust (mostly on the recoil spring), and blew the dust out of the barrel. Ran a patch down it with Hoppe's and it came out almost clean. The bore is beautiful - no rust, pitting, or anything. It shone with a mirror finish.
I found this website, which gives me about all I know about it:
http://www.cruffler.com/historic-may01.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I can't find an example with the wood grips this pistol has. I don't know if they are custom, or from a limited factory run. The pistol does have engraving on the right side that says "Anna Sage". If you don't know, she's "The Lady in Red" or "The Woman in Red," a Chicago madam who fingered John Dillinger for the FBI. The engraving was done by the owner's dad sometime after he got back from Europe.
OK you experts, you have your homework, now hop to it!
