1201: Chapter One Thousand One Hundred Eighty-Four: Knockoff 1201: Chapter One Thousand One Hundred Eighty-Four: Knockoff Mr.
Federer offered for sale models that were in good condition, original, and relatively sought after in the collection field.
At ho, he dedicated a room to display his finest pieces, of course, if there was only one of a kind, regardless of its condition, it deserved to be placed in Mr.
Federer’s glass cabinet.
Only the surplus stocks of the sa model would be stored in the basent, and their conditions varied.
Mr.
Federer opened all the boxes, inside were neat boxes of Broomhandle Mausers ready to be sold.
It must be clarified that these guns were available for sale to Gao Yang; Mr.
Federer was reluctant to sell to others.
After all, having sold seven guns, Mr.
Federer felt the money was enough for him, and there was no need to sell the rest.
The bulk of Mr.
Federer’s collection were the Broomhandle Mausers produced by the original German Mauser factory, with only differences in production year and model.
Nevertheless, most in this C96 series were multiples with varying conditions.
Gao Yang wanted to have a systematic collection, but there were simply too many types of Broomhandle Mausers, and he didn’t even know how to categorize them for his collection.
Since Huaxia was the largest user of Broomhandle Mausers, many of the guns left on the market had flowed out of Huaxia, through a variety of channels.
But the main and largest batch ca out in the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the period when Huaxia exported a large number of old guns from its stockpiles.
So of the low-production, rare models on the Arican market almost all ca from Huaxia, and within Mr.
Federer’s collection, those from Huaxia accounted for at least more than half.
According to Mr.
Federer himself, the two years Huaxia was able to export old guns in large numbers were the happiest of his life.
With so many guns from Huaxia, Gao Yang simply decided to focus on collecting those with Huaxia markings.
He looked over each gun he picked up, until after taking a 20-round M712, Gao Yang turned to Mr.
Federer with a smile, “Look at this one, this is a German export to Huaxia, but when it entered Huaxia, they uniformly stamped it with Chinese characters indicating ‘Made in Germany’.
Even though all Mausers are made in Germany, strictly speaking, only this batch of guns is truly ‘Made in Germany’.
These three characters an just that, and I want this one.”
Mr.
Federer shrugged his shoulders and said: “Take it out, we’ll test fire it and then disassemble it to inspect the interior.
If you find no issues, then we’ll talk about the price.”
Gao Yang set the gun aside and then picked up a late-model German-made M712.
Despite its poor condition, Gao Yang couldn’t put it down after holding it.
Mr.
Federer glanced at it and said, “This one is in bad condition, and the parts inside are mismatched.
Although they’re all old parts, they’re not from the sa gun.
Pick sothing else.”
Gao Yang shook his head and smiled, “No, this one has significance.
Look, there are three Chinese characters for ‘handgun team’ carved on the grip.
There’s history here, do you know what that ans?”
Mr.
Federer, surprised, took the gun from Gao Yang’s hand, and after looking at the three Chinese characters Gao Yang pointed out, he said with a bitter smile, “I know about ‘handgun team’.
The Huaxia Army centralized the use of all Mauser pistols, which was one of the earliest forms of Special Forces, right?
I’m very interested in this part of history, because the Huaxia Army had an innovative way of using Mauser pistols, which showed remarkable effects with the C96.
I’ve researched this history, but unfortunately, I don’t know Chinese characters.”
The three characters for ‘handgun team’ were engraved neatly, and considering the model, it was already during the period of the Sino-Japanese War.
Although it’s uncertain which unit this particular gun belonged to, it could be confird that it was used by the Huaxia People.
As such, Gao Yang definitely would not let it go.
Gao Yang smiled but then sighed and pointed to the gun in Mr.
Federer’s hands, “The innovative usage was also a thod borne out of desperation.
That part of history, for the Huaxia People, is a humiliating one.
But no matter what, the significance of the Mauser pistol to the Huaxia People cannot be overstated, hence, I like the C96 very, very much.”
Mr.
Federer held the gun, his face full of reluctance to part with it.
“This is a historic firearm.
Maybe the parts inside were replaced by the people using it at that ti because although the part numbers don’t match, the batch numbers are quite close.
I think this gun was assembled from the good parts of two other damaged guns from the sa batch.
This gun must have seen many battles; the bore is severely worn, that’s the history.”
Mr.
Federer’s deanor seed as if he didn’t want to sell it.
After all, collecting is about history.
But after wrestling with the decision, he finally bit the bullet, pushed the gun towards Gao Yang, and loudly said: “It’s yours!
Plus, this gun is easy to price, seven hundred bucks.”
Gao Yang expressed his surprise: “Why so cheap?”
Mr.
Federer, with a determined face, replied, “Because the parts aren’t original, ah.
The price for a composite gun is just that, so of course we go by the market value.
Alright, let’s not talk about this gun anymore, let’s continue looking.”
After choosing a few more rare models, Gao Yang didn’t have the heart to keep picking, seeing Mr.
Federer’s expression, he felt apologetic.
Gao Yang finally threw up his hands and said, “Alright, I think I have enough to satisfy my current collecting desire.”
Federer let out a long sigh of relief, then said briskly, “That’s great, um, I an very good.
Take the guns, and let’s head out.”
At this mont, Cui Bo couldn’t help but interject, “There’s still one more box we haven’t looked at.”
Federer slapped his forehead, laughing, “Oh, I forgot.
Inside that box are so guns in pretty bad shape that I use for parts.
There are also so odd fellows in there, really, I don’t know how I forgot to have you take a look.
Maybe you could clear up a long-standing mystery for .”
Federer opened the last box, and indeed, most of the guns inside were in shambles.
But you know, according to the usual clichés of novels, treasures are always found among the wreckage.
From the box, Federer took out a gun that seed rather ordinary and with a puzzled face said to Gao Yang, “Take a look at this gun for .
It’s quite strange.
It looks like an early model C96 from Germany, but the parts inside don’t seem like they’re from Mauser’s factory.
Yet it has all the right inscriptions and part numbers.
I wonder, could this be a defective product that left Mauser’s factory?
I don’t think so.”
Gao Yang took the gun and was also full of doubts.
At first glance, there was no apparent difference from a regular C96.
But upon closer inspection, sothing seed off.
It looked alright from the outside, no different from a regular C96, but once you pulled back the bolt, the craftsmanship inside the barrel appeared a bit rough, nothing like the quality of Mauser’s factory.
Gao Yang was puzzled too, but then he slapped his thigh, laughing, “Ah-ha, I get it now.
It’s a knock-off!”
A look of surprise appeared on Federer’s face, “You an you know what this is about?
Knock-off, what does that an?”
Gao Yang lifted the gun, laughing, “This is a replica, not from Mauser’s factory at all.
But, this piece is special, it’s been crafted by hand by Huaxia’s gunsmiths.”
Federer exclaid, “A counterfeit made by hand?”
Gao Yang laughed, “At that ti, Huaxia’s industrial level was very poor, and the firearms produced or imported by the arsenals weren’t even enough for the military’s use.
But Huaxia was in chaos at the ti, so wealthy people wanted to protect themselves but couldn’t buy guns, or found the guns too expensive to afford.
So what should they do?”
Gao Yang shook the gun in his hand, smiling, “That’s when artisanal gunsmiths ca into play, dismantling and studying the chanisms of various firearms, then painstakingly handcrafting guns according to the exact appearance and internal structure of the originals to sell to those wealthy individuals seeking protection.
Mauser was very popular at the ti, so there were many of these hand-crafted versions.
So gunsmiths had high-level skills and made replicas indistinguishable from the real thing.
Of course, most gunsmiths had poor skills.
Also, because of the difference in steel quality, and without good steel, these guns couldn’t fire many bullets.
As for this gun, it’s a rare gem.”
As a collector, Federer was interested in the Mauser C96, but he was not a historian.
So things he might know, like about the pistol teams, but it’s impossible for him to be fully versed on everything happening in faraway Huaxia.
Federer, with an expression of joy, said, “I see, that’s wonderful.
I’ve learned sothing new, thank you, Gao.
This gun really is a gem, achieving the effect of being indistinguishable from the real thing.
Fantastic, it’s truly a treasure.
I must quickly put it in my display case, haha!”
Gao Yang was sowhat taken aback, thinking that Federer had changed his mind and was going to sell the gun to him after all.
So he nodded repeatedly, saying, “Exactly, exactly, you got it right.”
Federer handed the gun to Lee Jinfang, laughing, “Have a look, because once I lock it up, you won’t have the chance to admire it anymore, haha.
Gao, don’t think I’ll give the gun to you.
Looking at your expression, haha, don’t even dream of it, I’m keeping this one, and I definitely won’t sell it!”
Gao Yang felt helpless and could only shrug his shoulders with a wry smile.
But just then, as he was rummaging through the box, he saw another gun, reached in to grab it, and then said with a serious face, “Forget that gun, but this one, Mr.
Federer, you absolutely must sell to !” (To be continued.
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