Finally got my Luger yesterday

Johnny,


You are exactly right. The inside of the sideplate is indeed one number higher than the first two digits of the S/N. At first I didn't know what to make of that. The finish of this pistol appears original, although I'm not sure of what giveaways there are to look for since I'm more used to looking at 1911s. The finish is worn quite thin on the gripstraps and the high edges of the left side, but otherwise is completely intact over the rest of the pistol. The bore is bright and smooth, and the entire pistol is nice and tight.


I was told on another forum that a possible reason why the mag isn't matching is because German soldiers often swapped magazines with each other for luck. Has anybody else ever heard of that?