This LOC pistol is an interesting pop-out pistol rarity that appears to be an exact copy of the German JGA Dolla Mark II, except that it has a ‘LOC’ medallion set into the grip, and it is impressed on the base of the grip with “Made in Japan”.








It is very rare and was only available in the USA in about 1938-1939. There has been much debate about the truth of the “Made in Japan” mark, and there are two schools of thought. Firstly, the statement could be true, and the pistol is a Japanese copy of the Dolla Mark II, or secondly it was a German-made Dolla MK II with fake markings, intended to deceive the US Customs at a time when Nazi German imports were banned. If the markings are true, then that would make it the only the second spring air pistol known to have been made in Japan. The pros and cons of these two schools of thought are discussed in detail in the Vintage Airguns Gallery here :

https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....ols/#post-4077


Although the weight of evidence tended to favour the second theory, the alternative interpretation could still not be completely discounted. Now, a new piece of evidence has now come to light, thanks to the sharp eye of forum member Bruce (Buck25), which more or less clinches the ‘fake Nazi marking’ theory. An example of the LOC pistol has been found, which, despite being marked ‘Made in Japan’, has small stampings of the Nazi Eagle, in stylized form, on the cylinder, trigger guard, trigger and grip.









This Nazi eagle was used extensively on guns, both for secret coding and as proof marks. Here are some examples:





The question now is, why this particular gun stamped in this way, when all the others reported to date were not?