German made M 1895 Mannlicher bayonet by ERNST BUSCH SOLINGEN dated 1916! (ABCN305-5)(K0)(JN97-3)

Austrian made 8 mm. Repetiergewehr M 1895, system Mannlicher. Serial number: 2259 on the crossguard. Excellent bright fullered reversed blade with German makers name in two lines on ricasso; ERNST BUSCH, SOLINGEN. Blade spine is very crisp Prussian marked: Crown over W16 over a Gothic inspection mark. The reverse spine is marked with a capital E letter.
Bright pommel and crossguard with muzzle ring MRD 15 mm. Much smaller catch than normal M 1895. Bright finished pommel with a crisp German (Gothic) inspection marking. Excellent wooden grips are riveted to the blade tang.
Excellent and correct unmarked Austrian type steel scabbard with no dents.

It is known that only in 1917 and 1918 Ernst Busch in Solingen-Germany made M 1895 bayonets, some 85 % is dated 1917 and the remainder 1918. These were special produced  for German troops equipted with Austrian Mannlicher rifles to assist the Austrio-Hungarians at the Austrian front line in WWI.
1916 dated examples are not described, seldom show up and are extremely rare. This is the very first time that we have found a 1916 dated example! 

An extremely rare German WWI made M 1895 bayonet dated 1916 for the M 1895 Austrian Steyer Mannlicher rifle. Not refurbished by the Czechs. A very nice example!

Ref: Anthony Carter. Volume III-182

New addition. Pictures will follow soon.