1914 automatic pistol

Question
I have a gun that was owned by my late father.  I would like to know how much it is worth if anything.  Please note that I know very little about guns.  The description:

On the left side of the barrel is imprinted.
7 65 1914 AUTOMATIC PISTOL
"VINCITOR" PATENT

The gun is silver and has a black handle.  The handle has a Vincitor insigna on it.  Inside the chamber (where the bullet casing ejects) are the letters PV with what appears to be to be a crown symbol above the letters.  To the left of that is and arrow with feathering.

Heck for all I know the gun may have been black at one time.  One other thing it doesn't appear to have a serial number on it. But as I told you I know very little about guns.

Thank you for any information you can provide.
Karen

Answer
Karen,

What you appear to have is a "Ruby" style pistol, which was a French modification to a Browning M1903 pistol design and was manufactured under license by over 50 different Spanish companies.  Your particular gun was manufactured by M. Zulaica y Cia (under the brand name 1914 Model, Royal, and Vincitor; marketed by the agency of Royal Vincitor S.A.  The gun probably carries the French Military code stamp ZC some where on the frame.

The PV with a crown above it and the arrow with feathering are called "proof marks".  They are the marks of the proofing houses that tested the guns prior to shipment to fulfill the manufacturing contracts.  

Because of the large number of manufacturers, some of these guns were of good quality, some were not.  The French government accepted over 700,000 of these from all manufacturers, so while an interesting piece of history, they are not especially rare.

These guns were plentiful during the first World War and many US soldiers brought these back upon their return.  If your Dad was not a WWI vet, he may have gotten it from a friend or relative that was.

In terms of value, since yours is a 'clone' and not from the original producer of the design, it might be worth $200-$300 but would greatly depend on the condition of the gun.  Without actually seeing the gun it would be impossible to place an accurate value on it...

Hope this helps you out...

Doug Little