Yuku free message boards

A "P." prefix indicates non-military procurement. "Zoll" means "customs" and is apparently taken to indicate procurement for the customs service. If the "P" is not part of the serial number, it may simply be the "privatization" mark applied when an arm was released from government ownership, in which case the carbine would be serial 601 of the normal military series. A sharp photo of the serial would let us make a more positive determination.

Almost all of the 1900 short rifles in military service were recalled and converted to 1911 carbines, receiving new stocks, barrels, sights, magazines, etc. If yours is a P.-series example and is now in K11 configuration, it was most likely returned to the arsenal by the using organization and underwent the same conversion process as the military 1900's.

OK, the period after the "P" clarifies the serial as "private" (non-military) production and "Corps des gde. fr." means "Border Guard Corps". This alleviates my uncertainty about the meaning of "Zoll" in the serial lists copied from D.R.d.S., since customs enforcement is one duty of border guards. Thank you.

The private series 1900's, converted to K11 (sometimes called "00/11"), are neither common nor highly valued - since the only effective difference between them and the common military series is the serial number. Only the most desperate of minutiae-obsessed collectors will pay much extra for an arm with an uncommon serial that is otherwise identical to the most common example. There are exceptions for unusual serials with obvious interest to even casual observers - like "1", "50000", "7777", etc., but in general any time we need a reference table to show someone a serial is uncommon there is little added value.