Victory revolver with USMC grips *more pics added*

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turp_dog

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Came across this revolver and had some questions about the markings on the grips. From a cursory search, it doesn't appear that the Marines stamped their sidearms, although I may be mistaken. However, that rudimentary knowledge gives me pause regarding this particular firearm. Wanted to know if these are real or faked. Thanks!

S-W-US-Navy-Victory-Model-38-Sp-USMC-Civil-Defense-marked-101972713-113-1-EF520-C0-DAA80374.jpg
 
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And I agree with your opinion that the experts will say US Maritime Commission. Its the EGA on the bottom that gives me pause, because the present emblem wasn't adopted until 1955, some years after WWII.
 
That I do not know. I only have the pictures in the for sale ad right now. It is US NAVY marked on the topstrap, and it was later etched on the left sideplate with "C.M.C-CD" (crudely stenciled).

So quite an interesting piece that made the rounds, although I wonder if perhaps someone mistook the USMC marking to mean Marine Corps and added an EGA later? Perhaps the USMC was original? Unsure why the grips would be marked this way as opposed to the backstrap.
 
turp_dog said:
That I do not know. I only have the pictures in the for sale ad right now. It is US NAVY marked on the topstrap, and it was later etched on the left sideplate with "C.M.C-CD" (crudely stenciled).

So quite an interesting piece that made the rounds, although I wonder if perhaps someone mistook the USMC marking to mean Marine Corps and added an EGA later? Perhaps the USMC was original? Unsure why the grips would be marked this way as opposed to the backstrap.
Click to expand...

If the grips are numbered to the gun, the USMC marking may very well be original. Of course an LOA may shed some light on this one. Personally I think the Marine Corp connection may well be more correct than the US Maritime Commission, as I've never seen or known of one with a grip so marked. It doesn't seem logical that a U.S. Navy marked gun would have a grip marked for the Maritime Commission, however a Marine Corp marked grip makes a whole lot more sense. Look forward to learning more about this one.
 
It’s not an “official” Marine Corps or Maritime Commission stamping.

But a Navy property mark would pretty much eliminate the Maritime Commission. The Marines were equipped through the Navy, especially the carrier pilots who were issued Victorys. Some armory or unit within the US Marine Corps coming up with its own mark is certainly possible, although probably not provable.

The C.M.C. in the post-war Civil Defense marking has shown up here before; I’m not sure we’ve come up with an explanation.
 
turp_dog said:
And I agree with your opinion that the experts will say US Maritime Commission. Its the EGA on the bottom that gives me pause, because the present emblem wasn't adopted until 1955, some years after WWII.
Click to expand...

The EGA dates back to 1868 and there have been many versions used. The one shown looks like the one on the official HQ's flag from the 1940s. I wish there was a better picture of the stamping.
 
It looks to me like someone though they would add some value by adding stamps to the grips. The stamps look too new to be 50-80 years old, where are the dings and grime?
 
opoefc said:
Are the grips numbered to the gun ? Ed
Click to expand...

Absalom said:
It’s not an “official” Marine Corps or Maritime Commission stamping.

But a Navy property mark would pretty much eliminate the Maritime Commission. The Marines were equipped through the Navy, especially the carrier pilots who were issued Victorys. Some armory or unit within the US Marine Corps coming up with its own mark is certainly possible, although probably not provable.

The C.M.C. in the post-war Civil Defense marking has shown up here before; I’m not sure we’ve come up with an explanation.
Click to expand...

That explanation makes a lot of sense. Thanks for clarifying my earlier misunderstanding regarding the maritime commission. It certainly seems like this revolver has quite the story. If only it could talk...
 
I do not know any details, but I have read that auxiliary civilian police reserve organizations were formed by some local law enforcement agencies under the Civil Defense act. Somehow, the government supplied them surplus small arms. In addition to these revolvers, there are also some long arms known to have CD markings. It would be interesting to find out more, such as what time period and where such auxiliary units existed. I doubt that there were many such auxiliary units, and they were probably never activated. My guess is that they were creatures of the Cold War era after WWII.
Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950 - Homeland Security Digital Library
 
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