[potatofarmer]

hey everybody, im looking for the history and value of this gun. its been passed down for generations. theres a 3 on one side and a PB logo on each side. its a Pietro Beretta i think

Please help me out on this one

[Lotus14]

Hello Potato,

The Beretta you own was made by Lytell Novelty Company, of Brooklyn, New York.

Lytell made a whole range of solid cast pistols. They were offered for sale in the backs of comic books, and magazines such as Popular Mechanics.

As far as I can tell these were sold from some time near the end of WW 2, untill the late ‘50s or early ‘60s. The pistols sold for $2.00 each, in the ‘50s.

As a kid, I collected them along with another friend who was interested in guns. When you bought the gun, it would come wrapped in a poorly made catalog, with pictures of each one of their guns.

They made a cast replica of every major military handgun; they also had replicas of pistols going back to at least the Civil War.

I have a feeling that some of these pistols might have been made as training aids during WW 2, and Lytell was the contractor. If you look at the various pistols, they look like they were cast from a pattern made from the real gun. I think because Lytell had the patterns, they continued to make them and sell them as novelties; possibly adding other historic pistols.

There was also at least one “fantasy” gun, which was a ray gun made from the M98 Mauser; I think they also made “arcade” pistols for old fashioned penny arcade shooting games..

Unfortunately my collection was stolen many years ago, and I’ve been trying to rebuild it; it has been very slow, as they come up very seldom, and most people don’t know what they are, so they get listed for sale under all sorts of categories and names.

I’m sure there was some military connection, as I remember using the Colt .45 version in hand-to-hand combat training in the Army…in 1964.

The pistols I know were made were: Luger, P-38, Colt 1911, "Nambu", Mauser M98, Tokarev TT, Beretta 34, S&W .38 revolver, Colt “Cobra”, Colt SAA, Webley, and Colt “Navy” Civil War Pistol.

There were others, but I just don’t remember what they were (I think there was a Colt 1903, and the Webley "Boxcar" automatic). I wish I’d kept the catalog, but it was such a cheap printing, and one came with each pistol so I never thought to keep one.

Hope all this helps…probably more info than you wanted to know.

Best regards,

Tim

Sorry the value depends on condition, and if you can find someone who wants it.
I've seen the Lytell pistols sell on eBay for between $6.00 and $75.00. This sort of depends on the seller and what hype is thrown out. I collect them, and won't pay more than $50.00, and average around $25.00, but that is not to say I'd pay more, for the right piece. The German pistols and the Colt 1911 seem to get the best prices.