POTD: Rare Chinese Sugiura Shiki Semi-Automatic Pistol
Sam.S 01.28.22
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a Japanese Siugura pistol which is one of roughly 6,000 ever made. These were manufactured by an invaded portion of China during World War Two. They are often referred to as a Sugiura Shiki which roughly translates to Sugiura Type. These are basically Chinese-made copies of Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless pistols. They were manufactured in both .32 ACP and .25 ACP. These were an attempt to outsource the manufacture of military sidearms when supplies became dire in the later parts of World War Two.
“Manufactured in China, factual data about the “Sugiura Type” pistol is hard to come by, however it is suggested that they were produced in late WWII by the Japanese in mainland China and immediately after the Japanese surrender, the Chinese took over and continued to produce these on a limited basis. Most likely the area of manufacture was occupied Manchuria/Manchukuo. A total number that were manufactured is unknown, and very few have made their way to American shores, with estimates suggesting less than 20 are on the private market. This pistol is equipped with fixed sights, a serrated oval safety/slide catch, and matching serial numbers on the slide, frame and magazine. Aside from a small 5-pointed star stamp on the left rear side of the slide, no makers marks are present, suggesting late/post-War manufacture.”
Lot 1675: Japanese Sugiura Shiki Pistol 7.65 mm auto. (n.d.). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/66/1675/japanese-sugiura-shiki-pistol-765-mm-auto.
