Chinese Marked Spanish Astra M-900 5.5” 7.63x25mm Pistol, MFD 1927 C&R

SOLD FOR: $1,025.00

LSB#: LSB260624RL012

Make: Astra, Spain

Model: 900

Serial Number: 4903

Year of Manufacture: 1927 (*A Date Code) / C&R; first production year of the Astra Model 900

Caliber: 7.63x25mm

Action Type: Single Action Short Recoil Semi–Auto Pistol with Internal Magazine Fed By Stripper Clips

Markings: The left side of the frame is marked with the serial number, “4903”. The right side is marked with several Spanish proofs and part of the import markings. The side plate is marked, “”ASTRA” AUTOMATIC PISTOL CAL 763”. The upper/barrel are marked with several Chinese characters and Spanish proofs. The underside of the barrel has an import mark.

Barrel Length: 5.5”

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a barleycorn blade integral to a rectangular base fixed to the barrel. The rear sight is a tangent V-notch leaf with markings from “50-1000” that is pinned to the receiver.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two-piece ribbed wood panels. There are heavy pressure dents and scratches throughout along with several chips. The ribs have moderate wear. There are no cracks. Overall, the grips are in about Fair to Good condition.

Type of Finish: Blued

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is gray and the rifling is heavily worn. There is very heavy erosion in the bore along with moderate pitting. There is a bump in the barrel from the import mark. In this writer’s opinion the bore rates at a 3/10.

Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 45% of its metal finish. There is moderate thinning, wear, surface rust, and spots of patina throughout. The grip screw is tooled, the pins are moderately tooled. The markings are worn and blurry in spots. Overall, this pistol is in about Fair condition

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this pistol. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards. The importer has stamped the import mark so deep it took the barrel out of round. Before firing this pistol please have it evaluated by a competent gunsmith.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: Leather holster.

Our Assessment: In 1927, Unceta y Compania of Guernica, in Spain’s Basque country, began producing the Astra Model 900 as its own unlicensed take on the Mauser C96. The formula followed the Broomhandle faithfully: short-recoil locked-breech action, fixed 10-round internal magazine loaded by stripper clips, long 5.5-inch barrel, and the tall 50-to-1000 tangent rear sight that let shooters of the era engage targets at rifle-like ranges. About 21,000 Model 900s were built through 1941, and the design spawned an entire machine-pistol family: the select-fire Model 901 (1,655 built in 1928), the 20-round fixed-magazine Model 902 (7,075 built), the detachable-magazine Model 903 (3,082 built), the rate-reduced Model 904, and the Model F made for the Spanish Guardia Civil.

The 900 was aimed squarely at China, where Kuomintang officers and provincial armies had an enormous appetite for broomhandle-pattern pistols; it was Chinese demand that had made the C96 itself a legend there. When the Second Sino-Japanese War erupted in 1937 and choked off that export market, Astra’s unsold 900s found their way into the Spanish Civil War and, between 1940 and 1943, into German hands. This pistol, built in the 1927 first production year, carries Chinese characters on its barrel alongside Spanish proof marks, a combination that maps the international trade routes of the interwar arms business directly onto the steel.

This pistol remains in Fair condition, retaining approximately 45% of its original blued finish. The exterior shows moderate thinning, wear, surface rust, scattered patina, and substantial evidence of prolonged service. The grip screw and pins show tooling, while the markings are worn and blurred in areas but remain identifiable. The ribbed wood grips exhibit heavy pressure dents, scratches, several chips, and moderate wear to the ribs, rating in Fair to Good condition. The bore is gray with heavily worn rifling and exhibits very heavy erosion with moderate pitting, rating 3/10 in this writer’s opinion. Of particular concern, the import mark was applied deeply enough to deform the barrel and produce a visible internal bulge. Although the action functions correctly, this defect warrants evaluation by a competent gunsmith before any attempt to fire the pistol.

For collectors of Chinese-associated military pistols and Spanish C96 variants, this Astra 900 has strong historical appeal despite its considerable condition issues. Its first-year 1927 production, original finish remnants, Chinese markings, classic 7.63mm chambering, and recognizable Broomhandle configuration give it the kind of service-worn character frequently associated with pistols that circulated through China during the turbulent interwar period. The heavily worn bore, barrel deformation, and extensive exterior wear materially limit practical utility and condition-based value, but they do not erase the historical interest of this early Chinese-marked Astra Model 900. Please see our photos for a better understanding of the condition and good luck with your bids!