In military use concurrently with the 7.63mm Broomhandle, the Red Nine name comes from the field practice of deeply branding a "9" into the grips; even in low-visibility situations, a soldier could know what ammunition to load just by taking hold of the pistol. Blade front and tangent rear sights graduated to 500 meters, with the three-line Oberndorf address on top of the chamber, two-line address on the right side of the frame, a New Safety hammer, and niter blue small parts. A "crown/crown/U" commercial proof is on the left side of the chamber, with an illegible mark (possibly a military proof) on the right side. The grips are in the 30-groove configuration with the branded and red-filled "9" on each side and matching numbers on the interior. Included with the pistol is a holster stock rig consisting of an unmarked non-regulation brown leather harness and a matching numbered hardwood shoulder stock which is unmarked. Writer believes this example to have been refurbished by the Germans for commercial export in the 1920s.

Very fine, with 90% of the arsenal refurbished blue, showing some covered dings and pits, areas of gray patina, bright edge wear and light scratches and handling marks. The grips are very fine, with a few light dings and nicks. Mechanically excellent. The harness is very fine with some light cracking, and the shoulder stock is very fine, with 85% blue on the attaching lug, and a few light scratches and dings on the light colored unmarked wood.