I have an early commercial M30 with a completely shot out barrel. It is in the 813XXX serial range, putting it somewhere between 1930 and 1932, and on the low side of the serial range made between these dates. It is completely matching internally, the grips are not numbered. The only part that may be replaced or modified is the rear locking tab. It has signs of being polished, and I had to do some hand fitting so that it wouldn't interfere with the hammer. Part of this may be that whoever beat on it with a hammer in the past may have caused damage to the part.
It does not have the Chinese markings on the left side, and may not have been exported to China, but that is my only evidence either way. There are proof marks on many of the parts, but nothing stuck out to me as unusual, though I admit I don't know much to look for. The barrel is so well shot out, that it is completely smooth and there is no indication of any rifling. There is a small bulge just behind the front sight. Note in the images I have removed the floor plate, mag spring, and follower. It has correct Mauser markings everywhere it should, I have no doubt this is a correct gun and not of Chinese origin.
At some point, someone didn't know how to disassemble it and beat the heck out of it with a flathead screwdriver and a hammer. I carefully took the stress out of these points with a fine piece of sandpaper taking care not to hit any of the undamaged areas or finish. No serious damage, just some scar marks which made mating parts a bit tighter. This issue has been fixed by taking off the small burrs and smoothing out the damaged areas.
If this were a later gun, Chinese marked, etc, I would have little question about relining the barrel. However, due to my inexperience with the C96, and the fact that this may be a more uncommon variant, I wanted to ask whether or not relining the barrel is advisable. I don't want to ruin a gun that could be rare or have some other significance. I also wonder if it is particularly valuable, or just another beat up commercial C96?
Any input?