Star of David on Mauser

[Battis]

I was looking at an 1893 7x57 Spanish Mauser tonight. The store says it's an "Israeli re-issue" based on the apparent Star of David stamp. I've been searching online for some time now, and I'm still not sure if they're right or not. There's a lot of opinions and guesses online concerning that star, but nothing concrete. I ordered "Mauser Military Rifles of the World" by Ball, and it should be here Monday.
I tried to take some pics with my phone but they didn't come out. These are some of the markings I remember:
Serial number is A6532.
"Mauser Espanol 1893"
Loewe Berlin
Any ideas on the Star?
It looks like it's all matching. The bore is good, the wood is beat up but not cracked or rotten anywhere. There's a faint cartouche on the stock.
They're asking $280.

[pacomdiver]

i wondered about the star of David on some spanish rifles too while looking thru "Bolt action military rifles of the world", there was pics of a 1893 infantry rifle and a 1895 carbine both with the star of david on left side of receiver between the serial number and where its stamped "Mauser Espanol"

[pacomdiver]

the site uploading is being stupid this morning, tried 4 times to attach pics of those 2 rifles, but after a few minutes, it pops up a tab that says the uploading has failed

[55fairlane]

At $280 bucks, regardless sounds like a fun rifle

[junkbug]

Ludwig Lowe was a major arms manufacture owned by Jewish interests. They often put the Star of David on export rifles.

[Battis]

I have to reduce the size of the pics before I can upload them.
As far as being an "Israeli re-issue", from what I've read, the Israelis were desperate for guns, but they had access to more modern guns than the 1893 7mm Mausers, and mostly went with 8mm rifles.
I have it on hold for a week - it is an interesting rifle. I wonder if it will get along with my Krag...

[TNsailorman]

Before the 1948 war with the Arabs, the fledgling Jewish state was desperate for arms. They were beginning from scratch with everything and the population was made up of a great many former holocaust jews and they were not about to give up without a fight again. They were also a British protectorate at the time and the Brits were confiscating any arms coming into Palestine. I don't remember arms being stamped with the Star of David before the State of Israel was made official by the UN. There may well have been some older rifles marked with the Star but it will take a mauser expert, which I am not, to say with certainty. It was desperate times. james

[GhostHawk]

I think you found yourself a piece of history and a bargain.

If it was me, I don't think I'd let it get away.

[pietro]

Ludwig Lowe was a major arms manufacture owned by Jewish interests. They often put the Star of David on export rifles.


Was the Obendorf factory also Jewish owned ? ..............

http://masterton.us/sitebuilder/images/Obendorf1-583x230.jpg


.

[Battis]

In reading posts on other sites, apparently some Chilean and Brazilian Mausers have the same star.

It would be a great addition to a collection, even if it's not perfect. I have the Swedish Mauser, Argentine Mauser, and two Krags.

[bstone5]

The Jewish nation re-barreled a lot of Mauser rifles in the early days of the nation. They a Pratt Whitney cut rifling machine and made a lot of 30 caliber barrels which were chambered in 308 Win. Some years back I got a few of the barrels and made nice shooting 308 Win rifles using the barrels and Mauser actions. My current hunting rifle is a small ring Mauser using one of the barrels, wish I had purchase more of the cut rifled barrels years ago, they were well made and did not cost much at that time in 1968. The barrel I have is dated 1/1961. They stamped a date on each barrel.

[Multigunner]

"Was the Obendorf factory also Jewish owned ?"

Ludwig Lowe owned a controlling interest in the Mauser factory. They also owned DWM at one time.

That looks like a Star of David and it might be just that, but Both Syria and Egypt have used a six pointed star in their flags.

Found this on Cruffler.

"To the rear of the firing proof is an Israeli proof consisting of the Hebrew letter "nun" (possibly a "gimel") inside a six pointed star. "

The star on the Mauser appears to have a letter in the middle.

I suppose it could be a civilian proof mark as well.

[salpal48]

This Has Nothing to do with the State of Isreal. It was simply The trade make if Ludwig Lowe .

[Battis]

This Has Nothing to do with the State of Isreal. It was simply The trade make if Ludwig Lowe

I agree. That's why I questioned what the store was telling me. They saw the Star of David and associated it with Israel, not the manufacturer.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Prague, Czechoslovakia used a six-pointed star proof mark from 1919-1931.
FYI.

[Texas by God]

Buy it and shoot it. The value will still go up from here.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Multigunner]

Interestingly I found that the star of David only became closely associated with the Jews during the 19th century.
It has been a part of a number of religions and national traditions. Still is but seldom seen in any other context.

[gwpercle]

This Has Nothing to do with the State of Isreal. It was simply The trade make if Ludwig Lowe .

Most sheriff's badges are of the same design, 6 pointed star, this symbol may have nothing to do with being from Israel or with being Jewish but everyone seems jumps to that conclusion.
I thought my Star Model PS pistol had one on it but it's an 8 pointed star so I guess it can't be Jewish.

[Multigunner]

I have a cigarette roller that was antique when given to me 40 years ago. Stamped into the front of the case is a small six pointed star but not in the same two triangles form as the Star of David. It most resembles the Arab six pointed star found on the Egyptian and Syrian flags.

[Battis]

I recently got a copy of Mauser Military Rifles of the World by Robert Ball. Tons of info on Mausers from everywhere - I'll be looking for an Ethopian and a Latvian Mauser to add to my collection. Just kidding. Every country had a Mauser version.
The stars are mentioned in a few places but there's no definitive answer to their origins. The Israel crest is mentioned on the Israeli Model 98K Short Rifle.
In the G98 section, there's this paragraph: "Stern or "Star" marked G98 rifles: these rifles were marked with a star on the upper front portion of the receiver ring to indicate that one or more parts used in the manufacture of the rifle were manufactured by small firms other than state armories...There were two different types of star markings used."

There's photos of the 1893 Spanish model that show the stars but no explanation.

[Char-Gar]

Geometrical figures are often adopted by various groups and nations as their symbol. The 6 point star and the swastika were both well know figures before Israel and the Nazis appropriated them.

[Multigunner]

I recently got a copy of Mauser Military Rifles of the World by Robert Ball. Tons of info on Mausers from everywhere - I'll be looking for an Ethopian and a Latvian Mauser to add to my collection. Just kidding. Every country had a Mauser version.
.

Actually I believe Latvia did have its own version of the Mauser in .303 British. I don't think it went into production. It was a common practice for smaller European countries that had acquired large quantities of British MGs left over from WW1 to issue gun crews with rifles of the same caliber as the MG even if the standard infantry rifle was of a different caliber.

The Latvian .303 Mauser used a copy of the Rigby sporting rifle magazine and floor plate developed for converting Mauser actions to feed rimmed or belted big game cartridges.

[Battis]

Yep, both countries are represented in the Mauser book.
I picked up the Spanish Mauser today. The receiver, mag floor plate, stock and bolt are matching, though you have to look really hard to see the number on the bolt. I don't see any numbers on the barrel ring.
I bought it home and tried to chamber an empty 7x57 case, but the bolt would not close. I tried another, and another, but it would not close. I measured the cases, scratched my head and then it dawned on me - they were fired cases from my Remington Rolling Block. DUH. I resized them and all is well.
The wood is beat up, dinged and dented, used but not abused. I definitely don't want to refinish it since the cartouche is still on the stock (it matches the Spanish crest and date on the receiver).
I'll get some pics.

[Battis]

Here's a few pics (I haven't cleaned the rifle at all). I'm not sure what to do with the wood.
The rifle above the Mauser in the last pic is a 1907 Winchester Self Loader .351 that I got a few weeks ago for cheap money. I already had one but what the heck...

[john.k]

Loewes were Jewish bankers.And the owners of Mauser,Ludwig Loewe,DWM,Half share in FN,OWG Steyr.And numerous machine tool and manufacturing companies.Sigmund Loewe was the general manager of Vickers,Sons and Maxim.And the star was a Zionist mark on the guns.A sort of Jewish group ownership symbol.The name is pronounced "lerver" in english.Parts of the business were confiscated by the Allied Armaments Commission,especially to do with the diesel fuel systems of submarines.The Nazis confiscated the rest in 1934.

[straphanger]

In the late 80's quite a few MG34 part sets were imported that were marked prominently with the star of David on the identification section of the barrel jacket. All were made by "dot" (the German WW2 code for CZ Brno) and dated 1945. After adoption of the MG42, dot was slated to be the only remaining manufacturer of the '34 for the duration for those applications that were unsuited to the 42 design.

These guns were unquestionably exported to Israel, and probably manufactured post war with left over parts from WW2. It is also common to find late production, chrome lined mg 34 barrels marked with the star.

Interestingly, BSW a very early manufacturer (1936) of the MG34 was Jewish owned. It was expropriated by the Nazis in 1939 and became known as code dfb/ Gustloff Werke.208680

[Battis]

I cleaned the wood and found a matching serial number on the stock directly under the serial number on the receiver. The star is stamped on many parts, including the screws.
The wood is still dinged and dented, but clean. I've put on five coats of boiled linseed oil so far (one a day for a week, one a week for a month, one a month for a year). I might stop at seven coats.
The bore is in great shape. I thought the cleaning rod was broken - it's about 17" long - but that's how they came.

[Texas by God]

You got a good one there. All the different receiver crests on Mausers are fascinating to me.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[pietro]

Interestingly I found that the star of David only became closely associated with the Jews during the 19th century.
It has been a part of a number of religions and national traditions. Still is but seldom seen in any other context.


Kinda/sorta like Native American & ancient Southern Asian pre-Nazi's used a device similar to the Nazi Swastika as a religious icon.

.

[Discus420]

I bet it shoots great

[AllanD]

I remember looking at the Rifles at Navy arms showroom decades ago... they had K98 Mausers with Nazi "deaths head" markings and the receiver originally marked with a big German Eagle clutching a swastika in it's talons... I'd have loved to meet the Israeli Armorer than Overstamped the Nazi eagle with the Mogen David six pointed star as uncharateristically were not ground down as was normally the case, but were left clear and bright. additionally some soldier in the field had a similar sense of humor as the Mogen David was filled with gold (presumably paint)

But these rifles were all re-barreled to 7.62x51 for their new Israeli owners.

and all Nazi proofmarks were over-stamped with six-pointed stars as well they were very thorough and careful to frame any swasticas in the center of the star. I wish I had bought one!


I was looking at an 1893 7x57 Spanish Mauser tonight. The store says it's an "Israeli re-issue" based on the apparent Star of David stamp. I've been searching online for some time now, and I'm still not sure if they're right or not. There's a lot of opinions and guesses online concerning that star, but nothing concrete. I ordered "Mauser Military Rifles of the World" by Ball, and it should be here Monday.
I tried to take some pics with my phone but they didn't come out. These are some of the markings I remember:
Serial number is A6532.
"Mauser Espanol 1893"
Loewe Berlin
Any ideas on the Star?
It looks like it's all matching. The bore is good, the wood is beat up but not cracked or rotten anywhere. There's a faint cartouche on the stock.
They're asking $280.