In 97% very sharp condition we have a 1961 production East German produced Pistole M Licensed Copy of the Soviet Makarov Pistol. East Germany was the first country in the Warsaw Pact outside of the Soviet Union to Manufacture this pistol and they did so only briefly, from 1959 to 1965. The only other Warsaw Pact country that manufactured this pistol was Bulgaria. China also manufactured this pistol and probably still does. These pistols are nearly all import marked; only a handful exist that are not. These pistols were imported in some quality in the 1990’s but that was a long time ago and they are on the upward slope of collectability. They are considered to be the best made of the Makarov Pistols and certainly were better than anything made in any of the satellite countries during this period.
The field of collecting guns from the Coldwar Era has steadily grown over the years. This is a dark and dreary time full of adventurous spy stories and domino theories and all the mysterious things that happened behind the iron curtain we knew little about. People got killed trying to cross from east to west and many of those involved in control and intimidation carried pistols such as this. The East German Makarov would be right near the top of anyone’s must have list.
