Mfg. dates for No2 Mk1* Browning F.N. 9mm H.P.

[ewingfox]

Hello!  a Friend of mine owns a few Hi Power clones and one 'FN' - he has  always enjoyed shooting Browning's 'other Pistol' but doesn't know much about them.  He also isn't comfortable with tearing them down to do a complete cleaning, so I offered to take his back to my house for a deep cleaning and some investigation into the history.  It's been a few years since I've torn down an early(er) Hi Power and enjoyed a few hours carefully cleaning it up.

It's an internal extractor, been reblued, and unfortunately in the process it was pretty aggressively (amateurishly!) polished.  Lots of soft corners, inconsistent flats, and this has definitely resulted in damage to a number of proof marks. I have already managed expectations that this will limit both the collectability and value of his pistol, but he loves how it shoots and just wants to know more about when it was made and if possible, a general idea about its value.

I'll attach photos below once I've submitted this post, as I'm typing this up on my PC.

Serial numbers match frame, slide and barrel and is '6T2641'.  

Evident on the barrel lug, frame and slide are 'W' proof marks. The ejector has a 'D' proof.  There are no other distinguishable proof marks on the pistol.

Based on the preponderance of 'W' proofs from Nicholas Wolf, and it being internal extractor, I'm guessing '52-62 but I'd love to be able to narrow that down if at all possible!  Thanks in advance!

Ewing

[ewingfox]

Note - NO, I wasn't the jerk who munged up the mag release retention screw OR the slide lock cut!!!

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[ToddSig]

Welcome to HPC ewingfox
Thanks for sharing images of your friends HP. It is not a Belgium made FN, it is a Canadian Inglis. From the serial number, and the No 2 MKI* slide marks and the rear sight, it is one of the Canadian Contract pistols (The T was Inglis' method of denoting Canadian contract pistols, while CH was for the Chinese contract). The number 6 designates groups of 10,000 followed by the T for Canadian contract, followed by the serial number. So serial number 6T2641 would be the 62,641 Canadian contract Inglis. 

Beyond that I cant be of much help as my knowledge of Inglis HPs is severely limited. Perhaps some others can give more details and possibly date. Keep in mind the Belgian marks you are referring to, such as W for Nicholas Wolf would not apply to Inglis HP manufacture. I would think there is limited collector value, and what you have is a nice shooter. Thanks for sharing.

[ewingfox]

Apr 7, 2024 7:30:14 GMT -5 ToddSig said:

Welcome to HPC ewingfox
Thanks for sharing images of your friends HP. It is not a Belgium made FN, it is a Canadian Inglis. From the serial number, and the No 2 MKI* slide marks and the rear sight, it is one of the Canadian Contract pistols (The T was Inglis' method of denoting Canadian contract pistols, while CH was for the Chinese contract). The number 6 designates groups of 10,000 followed by the T for Canadian contract, followed by the serial number. So serial number 6T2641 would be the 62,641 Canadian contract Inglis. 

Beyond that I cant be of much help as my knowledge of Inglis HPs is severely limited. Perhaps some others can give more details and possibly date. Keep in mind the Belgian marks you are referring to, such as W for Nicholas Wolf would not apply to Inglis HP manufacture. I would think there is limited collector value, and what you have is a nice shooter. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks ToddSig!!!

I was really scratching my head about the serial number - I'll get cracking focusing on the Inglis forums. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.


Take care,

E

[cmdrcody]

This should be moved to the WWII Inglis HP thread.

[ToddSig]

Apr 12, 2024 9:03:38 GMT -5 cmdrcody said:

This should be moved to the WWII Inglis HP thread.

Good point. Moved to the Inglis High Power sub-forum