Dwight Gruber |
01-01-2014 05:24 AM |
COMMERCIAL DATABASE DESIGNATIONS
© 2014 Dwight Gruber
Some of the collector designations used in the database and in these remarks may not be the ones collectors are used to seeing and using.
The Luger/Parabellum/P08 is most commonly found as a military pistol. Its physical characteristics usually include markings of the manufacturer and date of production; or its production under a known foreign military contract, usually with its own serial number range. This has provided a convenient, consistent method of identification for the collectors of military Luger pistols.
Collectors usually categorize commercial Lugers by a haphazard reference to dates based on long-standing tradition and conventional wisdom. While this has served as a common vocabulary, it does nothing to further the systematic understanding of commercial Lugers. It actually disinforms by applying dates and designations which bear no relation to the reality of Luger production:
1900—Swiss military designation
1902 Fat Barrel—made in 1903
1902 Carbine—made 1902 to 1906; all pertinent characteristics are those of standard Old Model
1903 French—made in 1906
1906—no official designation this date exists
190x/date (e.g., 1906/20)—Swiss military designation
08 Commercial—army designation Pistole 1908
1913 Commercial—no official designation this date exists
1914 Commercial—standard P08 with stock lug
1920 Commercial—Alphabet Commercial series begins 1921
1920 Carbine—manufacturing dates and circumstances unknown
1923 Commercial (upright c/N, 5-digit serial number)—first appears in 1916, productioncontinues until 1921
1929 DWM (s, t, u suffixes)—s suffix begins 1928, continues into v suffix in 1929
The nomenclature which follows is a systematic categorization of DWM commercially produced pistols based objectively on their characteristics and some related official (usually military) designations. These designations will be used henceforth in the database and succeeding discussions.
There are three basic categories of the DWM Commercial Luger. These three categories are differentiated by substantive changes in design and construction:
Parabellum, Old Model (alter Art, old form): flat recoil spring, dished toggle faces with toggle lock, grip safety, routed/polished thumb safety indicator.
Parabellum, New Model (neues Art, new form): coiled recoil spring, flat toggle faces/no toggle lock, raised breechblock with loaded indicator, grip safety, routed/polished thumb safety indicator.
Pistole 1908: coiled recoil spring, flat toggle faces, no grip safety, raised breechblock with loaded indicator, GESICHERT stamped thumb safety indicator.
Within each model there are distinct types:
Old Model manufactured 1900-1906
Standard Parabellum, Short-Frame Parabellum, Carbine, transitional “French”.
New Model manufactured 1906-1913
Standard Parabellum, Navy Carbine.
Pistole 1908 manufactured 1909-1929
Standard P08 (5-digit serial numbers) manufactured to 1921
Alphabet Commercial (4-digit with letter suffix serial number) manufactured 1921-1929
P08 Carbine
Within each category there are variations, differences in fine details which, historically, collectors have found convenient to designate separately. These include:
Old Model Parabellum, 7.65mm caliber
Commercial
Swiss
American Eagle
U.S. Army test pistols
Bulgarian
Russian
Stamped with c/B,U,G proofs or not proofed
Stamped GERMANY on the frame under the serial number, or not stamped
Old Model Short Frame, mostly 9mm caliber
9mm caliber with “fat” profile barrels
Commercial
American Eagle
Powell Cartridge Counter
Stamped with c/B,U,G proofs or not proofed
Stamped GERMANY on the frame under the serial number, or not stamped
German and Dutch test pistols, usually 7.65mm, non-standard barrels
Old Model Carbine, 7.65mm caliber
13˝ inch barrel, tangent sights, wooden forend and detachable wood stock
Commercial
American Eagle
Stamped with c/B,U,G proofs or not proofed
Stamped GERMANY or not stamped
Old Model Transitional “French”,7.65mm caliber
Flat recoil spring, flat toggle faces with toggle lock, New Model breechblock, New Model extractor marked CHARGE’
New Model Navy Carbine, 9mm caliber
6-inch barrel, two-position rear sight
Stock lug and Navy-pattern wood shoulder stock
Stamped with c/B,U,G proofs or not proofed
Stamped GERMANY on the frame under the serial number, or not stamped
Some thumb safety mark stamped GESICHERT
New Model Parabellum, 7.65mm and 9mm caliber
Commercial
Swiss
American Eagle
With c/B,U,G proofs, lazy or upright c/N proofed, or not proofed
Long frame or short
Stamped GERMANY on the frame under the serial number, or not stamped
Some thumb safety stamped GESICHERT
Pistole 1908 9mm caliber, 7.65mm caliber after 1918
Commercial (5-digit) without stock lug, designated 08C
With stock lug after 1914, designated P08
With c/B,U,G proofs or lazy c/N proofs, upright c/N proofs after 1916
Stamped GERMANY on the frame under the serial number, or not stamped
Some with military proofs
Some engraved R.G. [number]
With rebated sear bar after 1916
Very few with grip safety
Some SAFE and LOADED
P08 Carbine, post-WWI, 7.65mm and 9mm caliber
Separate serial number sequence
Many different barrel, sight, and stock/forend configurations
Grip safety or no grip safety
Alphabet Commercial, 7.65 caliber, 1921-1929
upright c/N proofs
Stamped GERMANY on the frame under the serial number, or GERMANY or MADE IN GERMANY in other locations, or not stamped
Some back-frame marked Krieghoff SUHL
Very few with grip safety: Swiss, Commercial, AE
Abercrombie & Fitch
Stoeger import mark
Finnish army
Blank toggle/RIFF contract
German Police
Reichsmarine
Within each variation there may be pistols with unique characteristics which are too uncommon to generalize.
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