This is a Romanian Beretta M1934 that was used by Romania in WWII. The Romanians during WWII had a fascist government under Ion Antonescu. Like the Japanese Type 1 Carcano, Romania received Berettas from their fascist ally Italy. In December 1940 a contract was made for 61,000 pistols; the total ended up around 41,500, and the first batch of 10,000 was delivered in February 1941.
The pistol is identified as Romanian by its slide legend. Instead of saying the caliber is "9 Corto" in Italian, it says "9 Scurt" in the Romanian equivalent. Also, the circled "CM" proof common on Romanian contract VZ24's is seen on the frame.
The frame and slide match; however, the barrel does not. The barrel has rough machining, and appears to be a replacement. A batch of these pistols was imported in the early 2000's, and to be legally imported, the barrel had to be changed. While some pistols were sold with the original barrel included, this pistol lacks it.
The pistol is identified as Romanian by its slide legend. Instead of saying the caliber is "9 Corto" in Italian, it says "9 Scurt" in the Romanian equivalent. Also, the circled "CM" proof common on Romanian contract VZ24's is seen on the frame.
The frame and slide match; however, the barrel does not. The barrel has rough machining, and appears to be a replacement. A batch of these pistols was imported in the early 2000's, and to be legally imported, the barrel had to be changed. While some pistols were sold with the original barrel included, this pistol lacks it.