Help with WWII Berretta

[PAHunter62]

I have a WWII Beretta that I would like to know the value of.

The Serial number is F23926, and is stamped with a 1942 and P.SF. behind the left grip and under the slide.

It's a .380 ACP and is in working condition.

Unfortunately, it must have layed in something along the way, which corroded the left side of the slide.

Some pictures ... I will also post a pic with the markings on the inside of the grips. Not sure if they matter.

The good side:




The Bad Side:


Markings Behind the left Grip:

[PAHunter62]

and the inside of the grips:

[Big ugly]

With the damage to the slide value is not gonna be much. These guns dont hold a high value anyhow. What you have is a Beretta M1934 Or M1935 pending on the caliber. The 1934 is a 380 and the 1935 is a 32. In NIB these things are only worth mabbe 600, slightly more if it was captured with the paperwork. That is for the War era guns anyway. That slide damage is horrible, I am thinking mabbe 50 on value. You can piece it out however for more money. Grips, Mag, ETC. Now let me ask you this, does the slide still operate? Of course it dont. After a revue of the pics LOL. Your Beretta is the same year as mine, I would be interested in the piece if you would like to sell. I would advise getting another independant to value the gun, and drop me a line.

[johnlives4christ]

i would think the value would be around 100 dollars for parts.

[PAHunter62]

Yes, the slide damage is bad, but it is on the surface only. It must have sat in something for a while.

It is a .380 model. I have shot it a few times, the gun is in working condition.

[johnlives4christ]

would be a good throw down or trunk gun

[Bill DeShivs]

Please don't use the term "throw down gun."

[Bill DeShivs]

Iwould try to find a replacement slide. There are several places that specialize in old gun parts.

[johnlives4christ]

Originally Posted by Bill DeShivs

Please don't use the term "throw down gun."

why?

[K75RT]

$

[K75RT]

Throw down is a derogatory term the police use for a gun that is used to justify a questionable shooting....

[johnlives4christ]

Originally Posted by K75RT

Throw down is a derogatory term the police use for a gun that is used to justify an questionable shooting....

yep thats what it is.

[Big ugly]

Finding a slide for that may be tricky, However there are a few places out there where you can find them. My best advise for you is to buy another Beretta either in 32 or 380 and use that one as parts. You can pick them up around 300 400 pending on condition and year. Good thing is all the parts are interchangeable between the 32 and the 380, Grips, Frame, Trigger internals, ETC. Its not a trow away by no means. Especially it beeing a 42. Here is a pic of mine and it is a 32 cal. from 1942

[Jim K]

Two comments:

FWIW, PSF means "Polvere senza fumo" (powder without smoke), the standard Italian smokeless powder proof.

Second, I looked at the frame and then I looked at the slide. Then I asked whatinhell the Italians made that frame out of? The slide is about gone, yet the frame looks like it came out of the factory this morning. It looks like they were making something close to stainless steel in the middle of WWII. Pretty advanced. And if they used that material for the frame, why not the slide also?

(BTW, "throwdown gun" may be an insult to police, but they invented the term. The practice is prohibited now so of course it is never done, but the idea was that an officer involved in a questionable shooting would "throw down" a cheap and untraceable gun beside the victim to "prove" the victim was armed and hence justify the shooting.)

Jim

[Big ugly]

Jim I wondered that my self, I took min out and broke it down and I did the same with the wifes, Hers is WWII also but from 1945 and the slides are the same, They are heavy also but are discolored some, I was wondering if they were finised diffrent than that of the frames. If you look at the pic of mine you can see the frame is more glossey than that of the slide, its the same with my wifes. Tis something to look into I think, If the fisidh is diffrent then that may contibute to the dammage his has to that frame, other than the fact it looks like its been crushed some how towards the nose of it. What you think Jim, if not diffrent metal then mabbe diffrent type or process of blueing?

[Jim K]

No, I think those frames had a high chrome content. One clue to that is the plum color, which is what happens when you try to blue chrome-moly steel. Ruger had the same problem with the early Single Six revolvers, and ended up eliminating the red color by anodizing the steel rather than bluing it. But that alloy is tough as heck, and that Beretta had the ability at that time, and in the middle of a war, not only to turn out (or obtain) that alloy but to machine it speaks well of their engineering and tooling people.

As to the slide, either it required tooling that couldn't handle the chrome-moly or they felt it didn't need such an expensive alloy. Like so many other questions, only a time machine could give us an answer and one Albert Einstein says Walmart ain't gonna get any in any time soon.

Jim

[PAHunter62]

Thanks for the information so far guys.

I did look around to see what a replacement slide might go for, I found one for $60.00 - asked for a picture of it as there was none posted. What would the value of the gun be with a decent shape replacement slide?

I did break the gun down to show that this damage is surface only. The slide is very heavy as you know, and it appears as though it was touching a corrosive for a period of time and the frame somehow was not damaged.

Here are some other pics of the slide:

[Big ugly]

Well as you know replacements parts on a aged firearm is gonna change the value considerably. I would say cut the actual NIB value by 60%. It will go from a possible collector to a shooter only. With that beeing said these were and are never a collecter piece. Although for what they are these are very nice, very durable little handguns and make a perfect pocket pistol for the size alone. I carry one and so does the wife and these little buggers are heavy enough to cause damage when swung while in a thin purse. My wife can testify to that and so can the little latino she popped in the mouth at Wal-mart. I would say with a new slide and all in working order 200 to 250 on market value. Getting a shop to pay you that much, no way.

[Jim K]

Hi, Big Ugly,

That would be true if the gun currently had value, but this one has so little value, either as a collectible or as a gun, that a replacement slide could only increase the value. Of course, the value won't be that of even a 60% gun, but now it is, for all practical purposes, a 0% gun, worth a bit for parts. It is the same as if PAHunter had a frame without any slide.

I had thought first that the gun might be usable as a gun, but that side is so weakened that I have to consider the possibility that firing the gun could be dangerous. I would replace the slide.

Jim

[oscarmayer]

i'd like to comment on the term throw down gun too. though i have no problems with the expression itself and fully understand how it came to be . it portrays gun owners in a bad light. lets say for example this site is monitored now there is a public record of someone here avocationg the use of a gun illegally , shooting a would be burglar that was unarmed and the shooter felt the need to drop a unregistered weapon (that my friend is murder anyway you slice it in most states) in hopes the bg would appear to have meant the shooter harm. ok sure we all use funny screen names here but in a matter of 20 minutes we could be tracked by way of our isp.

[Jim K]

I appreciate your concern, but I don't think anyone actually advocated the use of a gun in such a way. Nor do I believe any law enforcement agency would waste time trying to track down and prosecute someone for such a vague reference.

Still, it is wise to consider the imact some terms may have on others. I admit I had some qualms about a screen name in use on this forum; that has been explained but the wrong meaning could be taken by others at a later time.

As I have pointed out in the past, posting on a web site is not like gabbing with your buddies in the rec room while hoisting a few cold ones. It is like going on Larry King Live with a megaphone; hundreds of millions of people can see what you write. Most won't understand, or won't care, but some will and not all will wish us well.

Jim

[oscarmayer]

while i agree 100 % no one here is advocating such a practice but consider the trolls the ones looking for a reason to be anti-guns. why provide them any reason to point the finger at responsible gun owners let the police continue their practice of a throw down / drop gun we should take the high road and even in jest never admit or acknowledge this might be acceptable