alphabet soup
 

Does anyone have a decoder for the script letters at the end of Luger serial numbers? I've looked up old German cursive on the net but still have some questions like is that an "r" or a "j" and "What the hell is that". Thanks to whoever replies, Mike

The “code” is that the pistols were made in blocks of 9,999 (some say 10,000). After that, they would start over with a letter. So the first block would be sn 1-9999. Then they would start over from 1a-9999a. Repeating through the alphabet as far as they could go in a year. So, as I understand it, there should be pistols from 1908-1918 all marked serial number 100 (for example). If I am wrong, someone(s) please correct me. Hopefully this helped and we can answer your question. If not, I’m sure that somehweres in the FAQ page there are better and more detailed explanations of this.

Thanks!
 

Right, they usually left out the x block. I just literally cant make out some of the letters, like is that a "g" or an "f".

If you go to this 'sticky' thread, you will find examples of the suffix letters -

http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthread.php?t=34813

Takes a bit of time matching the pics to your Luger... :D

Thank you!
 

THAT"S what I was looking for!!!

Ed Tinker would be gratified to know that his time consuming efforts to compile that listing are appreciated. :thumbup:

Whoops! Sorry, I must have fundamentally misunderstood the original question. But I agree, sometimes it’s incredibly hard to differentiate suffix letters in that script.

At the end of the FAQ PDF document is a very nice reference to magazine suffix letters. These are helpful for Mauser era pistols.

Just follow the FAQ at the top of every forum page and download the document.