A Hello and and an ID
 

Hello all! I am new to the forum, a long time fan of the Luger, and a new owner of a 1915 Luger.

My Luger has all matching #'s to include internals and the inside the wood grips. The proof stamps are three crowns and an eagle, which I traced as a German Army issue proof. It still has the stock lug, and there are no export stamps or anything other than what is supposed to be on an original example.

So, my question is, were Luger's able to get to sent or exported any other way than a war bring back? Considering everything that is all that I can come up with. I'd love to know the history, but aside from it's origins, I have nothing.

Please ask me for any info you may need to know or if you require more pictures please let me know.

Stay Frosty & thanks in advance!

Mike

P.S. Sorry for the crappy photos. If you need better examples I'll get my son to take pics with his iphone.

Let me reiterate, could my Luger have gotten to the states without the export markings between 1915 and the end of the War, or is it likely a bring back?

Hi, anything is possible. Bring back, post-WW1 commercial import and sale, WW2 bring back, post WW2 import and sale. Impossible to tell without a paper trail.

More likely a bring back as most imports were stamped, but rules change

Plus the fact that when there are rules, it doesn't mean they get followed.

I have moved this because it was in the technical help area

Ok, several possibilities.

1. It was brought back after the war, either WW1 or WW2
2. AFTER the war it was brought back by a GI or civilian in the 50's, 60's, 70's - as a personal item it could have been allowed and brought back - you could buy guns in the post exchange
3. It could have been imported into Canada, no import mark required
4. It could have accidently not be export marked (germany) or import marked after 1968
5. During the 1920's and into the 1930's money was very hard to come by, scores of German distributors may not have properly marked them 'germany' before exporting to the USA
At some point the 'germany requirement kind of was ignored, so tens of thousands of arms came into the USA in the 1950's and 1960's and were not marked germany
.
.

Not to be a pain, but this is not how it worked.
During WW1, no firearms were exported from Germany unless to a axis power. Some guns would have been brought back by a GI injured and I imagine some shipped home before the end of the war in 1918. But most came to the USA after 1919 and during occupation. But tens of thousands were still in use and hidden in germany and used through the Weimar era and during the nazi era.

Thank you all for the replies. Edward Tinker, that is exactly what I was wanting to know. I was hoping someone knew of multiple ways in which it may have came to the states in it's condition.

#3 was interesting. I take it Canada at the time just sold them as surplus firearms?

Thank you all again!

Stay Frosty