Another Mysterious Deaths Head Luger surfaces...
 

Here is one that just appeared on Gunbroker...

http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/Vie...p?Item=5474043

http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/ku...4_DH_skull.jpg

Either this one has been up for sale before or it is the second Death Head to show up with a 1918/20 marking on the chamber.

Yep, its the same one. Pete Ebbink posted a link to it on Gunbroker back on 05/19/02

Nice catch Ron!... I thought the unusual date/property mark looked familiar, but I wasn't sure...

Did they used Arty's to do the Death Heads Reworks?

This one sports an Arty receiver....

kidvett [img]cool.gif[/img]

Nope. After 1916 most Erfurt frames had the sight notch whether they were artillery or standard. An economy in production no doubt. This Death Head is an Erfurt, you can tell from the proofmarks.

Looks like Erfurt proofs and most late Erfurts had the reciever groove even on the 4" models. Salt blue on the trigger and safety are wrong of course. Interesting comments about dealer comments to fortify sales pitch!

Hey Ted,

I wondered about that too,..the seller sort of using the "(Bob ro Brad) Simpson" name as a bit of an endorsement...to add authenticity to the piece...


Quote from the ad : " Simpson has seen the gun, and commented that it looked the same as all the rest he has seen. "

Regards,

Pete... <img src="graemlins/yltype.gif" border="0" alt="[typing]" />

Yeah, right! Looks the same as what?? Like fakes, or authenticated pieces, he's (Mr. Simpson) seen ??

Too much left between the lines. [img]confused.gif[/img]

Quite right Greg,... the line doesn't say what Simpson's impression was, only that he has seen it and that it looks similar to others he has seen. Nothing there from which to infer authenticity... just a feeble attempt at implying authenticity. Nice catch guys.

As I recall, on the old forum this gun was discussed at length and the general conclusion was that it is a mongrel. It has a Mauser frame (note the hump) but probably does have an authentic DH Erfurt cannon.