What Kind of Luger Do I Have?
 

How do you determine the age & type of Luger firearm if you are not familiar with these guns? The Luger I have belonged to my late father who said it was German and originally came from an officer killed in WWII. It is in a holster stamped P.08 & some tiny swastica symbol and has 2 magazines with it. What I think is the S/N is 9775 and I am sure the stamping on top is "DWM". All parts but one are stamped with the same number, "75". There is also a "Crown N" proof mark on the barrel. What are the reccomended next steps to identifying the age, type, & value of this pistol? Thanks for any advice you can provide.

welcome to the forum Dalvis.

A lot of what you gave us helps. I bet there is a suffix under the front serial number?

DWM is a manufacturer and they made them from pre-WW1 to around 1930...


Value is from $500-$1000, could be more, but likely not. It is a commericial that was taken into either military or police service.

Are there any letters on the front grip strap?

Is there a stock lug (back gripstrap) a lug that could hold a stock if needed.


ed

Is it possible for you to post pics?

There is a very tiny stamping under the front serial number that looks like a flattened cursive "M" but with a vertical downstroke connected to the second hump. (Almost like cursive "M" & "P" combined, or as a graphic, sort of like a bird?)

There are letters on the front grip strap, they are "S.M.1697."

I will take some pix & post after while. Thank You for responding. Any way to tell what year the pistol was made?

Doug,

With pix the Forum can tell you a lot. As for the suffix, On this forum go to technical Info, then markings, then letter suffixs. See if anything there is close to what you're seeing.

My Luger Pictures
 

Some basic shots of the Luger I have, still trying to get the focus & lighting right to the markings are visible but here are a few to start with...

From what I can see it appears to be a 1920 Comercial that was modified for police use (as evidenced by the sear safety) and in your photos it is not correctly assembled. The coupling link on the rear toggle link is not engaged with the recoil spring lever. The SM marking is a property number for the Schutzpolizei Munster.

...:eek:... Don't shoot it this way. :thumbup:

Thanks for the info & safety advice. I inadvertently removed the trigger plate looking for number stamps & evidently failed to reassemble correctly. Could you please expound on how one would know when the gun was manufactured and what the terms "commercial" and "reproduction" mean related to how the weapon was used and it's present value?

It was mfg'd for sale to civilians rather than a military contract...I don't see anyone mentioning reproduction unless you mean Ron's humorous sig line...but there are aftermarket parts mfg'ers making sideplates, magazines, barrels, grips, probably more parts that I don't know about that are sometimes "force matched" to a Luger by stamping the original serial numbers or proof stamps or even cartouches into the repro part to make it look original...

Yours looks original...but the sideplate shouldn't have a number on the face; it should be on the bottom edge (for a commercial) but the Schutzpolizei probably replaced that...

For dating, post a pic of the frame serial number + letter suffix...There is a listing here but I can't make head nor tail of it but others here can... :thumbup: