webley mark 1 air pistol

[tony1975]

Greetings, air pistols arent normally my thing but trying to help out a mate with no internet access

I know when the mk1 came out etc, but is there any good sites that I can use to try and date a pistol and hence get an idea of if its worth 1p or £100 etc

its been laid up in wardrobe for many years, lightly used but still boxed and generally excellent condition, hes going to let me know what markings are on it when he next goes to his mums house

but if I was able to get a few facts and things together in advance then it will help give him a better idea of what to sell it for

thanks

[CRX]

Dating simplified.
If it has a wooden handle and a serial number up to 50,000 over the trigger it was probably made between 1924-1935, if it has plastic handles without the Webley Logo on and a serial number 50,000 - 65,000 above the trigger then it was made between 1935 and 1939. If it has Plastic Grips with Webley Logo and Birmingham 4 marked on it 1946 - 1958, if it just has the same grips and just Birmingham marked then it was made 1958 - 1964.
Btw post war had knurled barrels and serial numbering ceased, the numbers on post war Mk 1's were batch numbers.
Values according to condition.
Regards
Robin.

[ChrisR67]

Mine is fairly poor condition (no box and with lots of rust-spots from being stored in a garage by previous members of the family) so I doubt it is worth a lot. But it has a wooden handle and an expert once told me it would have been manufactured about 1928/9, which fits with family history ... serial number is 6599, if that helps you narrow it down

[CRX]

Mine is fairly poor condition (no box and with lots of rust-spots from being stored in a garage by previous members of the family) so I doubt it is worth a lot. But it has a wooden handle and an expert once told me it would have been manufactured about 1928/9, which fits with family history ... serial number is 6599, if that helps you narrow it down

According to Gordon Bruce's book on Webley pistols, 19,000 pistols were produced before 1926, so yours may be a little earlier than you suggested, and by that time they were on their 4th series of the Mk 1!

[ChrisR67]

According to Gordon Bruce's book on Webley pistols, 19,000 pistols were produced before 1926, so yours may be a little earlier than you suggested, and by that time they were on their 4th series of the Mk 1!

Oh wow ... that's very interesting ... I have always wanted to know more about it. At the moment all I know is that it was owned by my grandfather in his student days and later was kept in the garage on a shelf or under a bed.