Von Hindenburg's Luger ?
 

Well, I only drop by now and again and it's been awhile. I know you won't mind. A friend asked me for some help, mostly cuz I at least know where to go for assistance and because I know what I don't know about the P08.

My friend (there really is a friend and not me asking) was offered a P08, DWM 1915, all matching numbers in the correct places, 88xx, no unit numbers, showing a good deal of holster wear and a holster. The rig is correct for the period with a correct magazine and tool, it has a small fabric lifting strap that runs inside the shell that is used to lift the piece up for the hand. The holster is marked on the inside of the flap with a stamp. The stamp contains the date 1915, Ulm Do. and I could not make out the rest. There are no other markings on the rig. The holster shows quite a lot of wear from carrying on a belt and has been repaired several times, restiched, etc.

The gun of course comes with a story. A family heirloom brought over from Germany It was originally General Paul von Hindenburg's gun!!! Wow what a find!!! Hindenberg of Tannenberg (was it there they beat the Russians?) and who helped pave the way for Hitler. Who retired in 1911 only to come back in 1914. No paper of course. Just a story.

I told my friend that without a paper trail (letters, etc.) it was just a good Luger with a good bore with an older rig. He wanted to know if there is any way to check on the gun. The seller told him that among the proof stamps on the right side of the piece there is one that means it was issued to a high ranking officer. I had not heard this before. Is this the case?

Any help would be appreciated. Any questions I will try to answer.

tipoc

Hello Raul,

I cannot help you with the ownership issue of this luger... <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> , but on Jan Still's pistol forum...a 1915 holster posting came up that sounds very familiar to your friend's holster. Here is the link to that discussion on the Still discussion group :

http://www.gunboards.com/luger/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1437

Regards,

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

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by tipoc:
<strong> The seller told him that among the proof stamps on the right side of the piece there is one that means it was issued to a high ranking officer. I had not heard this before. Is this the case?tipoc</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">I have never heard of this from any other collectors as being true, nor do any of my books have this as a fact. But I have heard this story before. So, the quick answer is, No, no marking can "prove" it was issued to a high ranking officer.

Ed

Sieger: Quote: Scheisse!! Unquote Shame on you.

Just a thought - Many members of this forum speak German - Nuff said!!!!

<img border="0" alt="[nono]" title="" src="graemlins/nono.gif" />

I figured against it being Paul von Hindenburgs Luger, maybe Jerry von Hindenburg. Does anyone have a link to a good photo of imperial markings on the slide?
tipoc

Pete,
Thanks for the link to Jan's site. The holster is identical to the one with the J.M. Eckart shown there I saw no unit markings on it, I'll look again today.
tipoc

I just found a few pics over at Jan's site, same markings.
tipoc

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by Hairy:
<strong>Sieger: Quote: Scheisse!! Unquote Shame on you.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Hairy:

No, there is no particular shame in using this word in the German language, as they use it, frequently, at the beginning of almost every adjective in their language.

I have deleted the comment, however, for those whom may misunderstand its meaning in the English language.

Thanks!!

Sieger

Sieger: Please don't bother, I was just joshing with you. That's the problem with writing, you can't see the smile on my face when I write it. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

I remember my inlaws' shock when years ago we visited our neighbors in Bavaria. In an effort to be gracious to guests, our hostess spoke in literal English translation. In particular the English translation of Scheisser to describe a particular french politician raised some eyebrows.

Geo, In the Netherlands, I have seen some of "our" bad words used by the best people, without blinking an eye, but if I used some of "their" swear words, they looked shocked.

All perception, and how americans look at words...

Ed