1968 Baby Browning

03 November 2007   |   by Greg   |   Semi-Automatics
Another John Moses Browning Creation

John Browning had contracts with Colt and F.N. and this is why the Baby Browning was not imported to the U.S. until 1954, even though it had been in production for twenty-five years or so. Colt stopped producing the vest pocket .25 pistols and got out of that market in 1953.

The 1968 Gun Control Act - The 1968 Gun Control Act (signed by President Johnson on October 22, 1968 in the wake of the King and Kennedy assassinations) prohibited the importation of these guns. The funny thing is, Kennedy was shot with an Iver Johnson (American made gun) and King was assassinated with a Remington 760 Gamemaster rifle (also American made). With the American market cut-off, F.N. produced far fewer guns from 1969 to 1979, for export to other countries like Spain. Some of these guns are showing up in the U.S. recently.

Baby Browning .25 Caliber Semi-Automatic Pistol 1968 Browning 6.35mm (or .25 caliber to us Americans) was made by Fabrique Nationale (F.N.) in Belgium.

Serial Number Table

Year
of DOM
Begin
Serial Number
End
Serial Number
Yearly
Prod.
Totals
1959 181001 206439 25,439
1960 206350 230999 24,649
1961 231000 250999 20,000
1962 251000 278999 28,000
1963 279000 286099 7,100
1964 286100 303499 17,400
1965 303500 329999 26,500
1966 330000 367443 37,444
1967 367444 412999 45,555
1968 413000 479000 66,000
1969 479001 ? ?
Value Analysis 1968 to 2008
Graph Chart depicting value of gun over the years

Made in Belgium, this is a great gun for concealed carry. These guns are very accurate at distances under 25 ft. and totally reliable in my experience. My gun was manufactured and imported in 1968 just prior to the ban. It was purchased new for $50, by the father of one of my friends, who was a gun dealer at the time. He put the gun in his safe, still in the wax paper and pouch where it stayed for thirty years untouched and still unfired.

The FN Browning Pistols
The FN Browning Pistols

Let's look at the transaction from an "investment" point of view. My friend's father doubled his money every ten years on the gun, i.e., 1968=$50, 1978=$100, 1988=$200 and finally 1998=$400 when he sold the investment to me. When I originally wrote this I asked the question, "Do I think it will double in value by 2008?" At the time I said, "I think so. I have seen one like mine sell for $750 on gunbroker.com recently."

UPDATE: Well, in 2008 my question was answered. I was offered $800 for the Baby, and I turned it down.

The fact that the gun is unfired, condition of the original finish, it has the original manual, is in the original wax paper and has the original pouch all influence and enhance the value of this gun. Condition is everything with a gun that is a half-century old.

Although I'm not into gun collecting as an investment, I do like to collect guns that I believe will hold their value or increase in value. I look for value in everything I purchase, cars, musical instruments, down to my wrist watch. My friend's father was able to put this gun in a safe and leave it alone for thirty years, (possibly because he was a gun dealer and had plenty of other guns to keep him busy)!

Browning Specifications


  •      Capacity of Magazine - 6
  •      Over-all Length - 4"
  •      Length of Barrel - 2"
  •      Height of Pistol - 2¾"
  •      Width of Pistol - ¾"
  •      Weight of Pistol - 9.7 ounces
  •      Sights - Fixed
  •      Weight of Bullet - 50 Grains
  •      Muzzle Velocity - 820 ft./sec.
  •      Muzzle Energy 75 ft. lbs.
  •      Number of Rifling Grooves - 6
  •      Twist of Rifling - Right Hand
  •      Penetration - 3*

    * Number of ⅞" Pine Boards at 15 ft.
As you can see, I have the gun out on the kitchen counter taking pictures, holstering it and even loading the magazine and carrying it on certain occasions. I have resisted the temptation to fire it, but only by buying a used blue gun of this same model to practice with.

Many gun enthusiasts will laugh at the mention of a .25 caliber gun and call them a mouse gun. This little gun earned my respect and the respect of a lot of others through it's service to the French Resistance during WWII. It saved many lives. This gun went places, undetected, where a larger gun could not have gone. I've read more than one story of this gun being concealed inside cigarette packs.

Care & Storage

A word of caution if you own one of these with the pearl-lite grips: I have seen many examples where sunlight had yellowed the grips so badly that they just looked awful. Sunlight will cause extreme discoloration. This Lightweight version of the gun used a 6061 T6 aluminum frame and hexavalent chrome-plated (over electro-less nickel) slide and external detail parts. The finish will easily scratch if you use the wrong kind of cloth to wipe it down.

Baby Browning

Colt, John Browning and LBJ...

The Browning 6.35mm (or .25 caliber to us Americans) was manufactured by Fabrique Nationale (F.N.) in Belgium. John Browning had contracts with Colt and F.N. and this is why the Baby Browning was not imported to the U.S. until 1954, even though it had been in production for twenty-five years or so. Colt stopped producing the vest pocket .25 pistols and got out of that market in 1953.

Baby Browning

There is an old saying that "those who forget history are doomed to repeat it."

The 1968 Gun Control Act was a stupid, whimsical, whiplash knee-jerk reaction, nonsensical piece of legislation. The 1968 Gun Control Act (signed by President Johnson on October 22, 1968 in the wake of the King and Kennedy assassinations) prohibited the importation of these guns. The funny thing is, Kennedy was shot with an Iver Johnson (American made gun) and King was assassinated with a Remington 760 Gamemaster rifle (also American made). With the American market cut-off, F.N. produced far fewer guns from 1969 to 1979, for export to other countries like Spain. Some of these guns are showing up in the U.S.

Baby Browning

Baby Browning Valuation Update

Today is Sunday November 17, 2019 and as I'm updating this page for the redesign of my website, I decide to search for recent completed online auctions of a comparable gun. True comps are rare, but I found one. A 1968 gun, serial number 415679 sold for $1,235 on 09/15/2019 in a No Reserve Auction that started at one cent and received 36 bids.

author
Greg

My MOS when I served in the United States Army was 76Y. For you non-military readers, the Military Occupational Specialty of 76 Yankee means that I was a Unit Armorer. While on REFORGER 85, I trained with German Paratroopers and qualified as "Expert" with the German G-3 rifle, the Israeli Uzi 9mm sub-machinegun and the 9mm handgun.

Author, Anthony Vanderlinden shares his vast knowledge ... The FN Browning Pistols