British M1912 Webley & Scott .455 Self Loading Pistol Mark I

British M1912 Webley & Scott .455 Semi-Automatic Pistol

NRA good, with areas of light rust and pitting, ~50% blued finish blended with oxidized patina.  Left side of the slide is marked "WEBLEY & SCOTT LTD. / PISTOL SELF-LOADING 455 MARK I / 1913".  Top of the frame and chamber has inspector proofs.  Side of the frame has serial number "98406".  As appropriate for the Mark I, this has fixed sights.  Though the exterior has age blemishes, the internal mechanics are fine, with a nice crisp bore and tight action.  Includes a single magazine.  Brown plastic grips show wear but are intact.  The pistol is often referred to by collectors as the Model 1913 because the date is included in the marking, but the company labels it "Webley & Scott .455 High Velocity Automatic Pistol, Naval and Military Model" in their 1921 catalog. 

The pistol was the first automatic pistol in British military service, adopted by the Royal Navy in February 1912, though production did not begin in earnest until 1913.  The first 20 examples were delivered in April 1913, with another 60 in May.  Navy contract pistols were marked with an upper case "N" after "MARK I" on the slide, whereas those produced for commercial sale were not.  According to one author, commercial production ran from 1913 until the opening shots of the Great War shuttered commercial production which did not resume until May 1919.  In the end, the Navy purchased 7530, while a total of 1260 were sold commercially.  The markings on this example identify it as one of the 426 pistols made for the commercial market in 1913.

$600 - $800