Overstamped Serial Number?

[mrerick]

I'll get some photos up. I'm new to this, but I think that the age of the finish on the frame matches that of the barrel, receiver and drive train. I can see similar deep surface rust present in all the faces I inspected.

Since the numbers on other Lugers I have don't always line up exactly (some are high, low and the kerning between them varies) I have always assumed that each individual number was stamped with a separate die at Mauser. Can this be confirmed?

Joop has subsequently let me know that they believe the serial number dies were manually stamped by Mauser at first, then a machine (I suppose similar to an old hand stamp numbering machine) was built that would increment the number automatically after two strikes - one on the frame and the other on the receiver.

Since the kerning (space between digits) is inconsistent and the characters are not level, I wonder if they were still manually stamping individual dies in 1936. This gun should have been manufactured in April that year.

Marc