Consecutive Serial Number Pair 1/5000 American Eagle Edition Mauser HSC .380 Auto Semi Automatic Pistols & Boxes
Make: Mauser, Imported by Interarms
Model: HSC American Eagle Edition 1 of 5000
Serial Number: 3277 and 3278
Year of Manufacture: 1968-1985
Caliber: .380 ACP (9mm Kurz)
Action Type: Traditional Double Action Semi –Automatic (DA/SA) with Removable Magazine
Markings: The left side of the slides are marked “Original / Mauser”, “Mauser-Werke A.G. Oberndorf a.N. / Model HSc Made In Germany”. The right sides of the frames are marked with a “FBM” banner. The barrels are marked “9mm kurz / 38” and with a “FBM” banner. The right sides of the slides are marked with an American Eagle. The front straps are marked “Interarms / Alexandria Virginia U.S.A.” 3277: Marked on the left side of the frame and right side of slide with “3277 of 5000”. 3278: Marked on the left side of the frame and right side of slide with “3278 of 5000”.
Barrel Length: 3 5/16”
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a short blade. The rear sight is a square notch dovetailed into the slide. The top of the slide has a matte finish to reduce glare.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are checkered walnut with a flat finish to the tops of the checkering as they came from the factory. The grips show no handling marks and there are no mars in the checkering. The grips rate in about Excellent overall condition.
Type of Finish: The slide and frame are blued.
Finish Originality: All Original
Bore Condition: The bores are bright and the rifling is sharp. There is no erosion in the bores. #3277 may have been fired, but there is no indication in the bore or on the bolt face that #3278 was ever fired outside the factory.
Overall Condition: This pistols retains about 99+% of their metal finish. The serrations on the hammer, slide and safety are sharp.
3277: There is a very light mark on the left side of the slide about 1 3/8” from the muzzle and two tiny marks in the matte finish in the top left edge of the slide behind the ejection port.
3278: There are only the lightest of handling marks on this pistol. The grip screws are sharp and the markings are clear. Overall, these pistol rates in about Excellent condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. On this model, the safety blocks the firing pin, allowing the trigger to be pulled and the hammer to fall, which is a little disconcerting. Once the slide is locked back and the magazine is removed, the slide falls automatically when the magazine is re-inserted. We did not fire these pistols.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: These pistols come with one 7-round blued magazine with a flat steel floorplate marked with the Mauser banner logo and a spare magazine with a black plastic finger extension magazine. The magazines are unmarked and in AS-NEW condition. The pistols come in black plastic covered boxes inside a black cardboard sleeve. The sleeves are marked with white lettering “Original Mauser HSc” and “Interarms”. The front edges of the box have a label marked in ink with “3277 of 5000” and “3278 of 5000”. The sleeves show surface loss along the edges with fraying at the corners, and are in about Fine condition. The boxes are thin black plastic and are each marked in silver lettering “Mauser Model HSc / American Eagle Edition / “One of Five Thousand”, with an American Eagle and “Interarms”. The exteriors of the cases show no marks. The inside of the lids have clear plastic pouches for the storage of paperwork. The bottoms of the boxes are lined with white Styrofoam fitted for a pistol and one magazine. The Styrofoam shows light oil staining from the pistols. The boxes are in Excellent condition. Included with each box are an Owner’s Manual, a factory test target and a nylon bore brush. The test targets show three shots with a 2 1/8” group for 3277 and a 2 1/16” group for 3278, but we are not sure at what distance they were fired. The paperwork is in Excellent condition and the bore brushes are unused.
Our Assessment: The Mauser Model HSC pistols were made by the Germans during WWII and later by the French when they took over their factory and tooling. These pistols are of later German manufacture produced after the 1968 import ban. They are in Excellent condition only very light marks on one pistol and virtually no marks on the other. The second pistol appears to not have been fired since it left the factory. They each come with a spare magazine, neither of which appears to have been used, and in their factory boxes. Owner’s Manuals, factory test targets and unused bore brushes complete the package. These pistols look like they would be a lot of fun to shoot, and operate in both single and double action modes. They have a slide hold-open feature that only allows the slide to cycle forward when a magazine is re-inserted into the grip. They will make great carry guns that can be carried cocked and locked for a more accurate first shot in single action mode. However, this consecutively numbered pair of limited edition pistols is far too rare to get passed up by collectors of German handguns.
