Re 1917 Navy Luger controversal/fake
Based on all the information supplied by the experts on this Forum (not to include tacfoley), this Luger appears to have started as an Imperial military Luger. Sometime in its recent history a start was made toward making it into a fake Navy Luger. A new 6 inch barrel was added, 1917 dates were added to the left sight block and left frame, a new reproduction Navy rear sight was added, and fake Navy proofs and acceptance stamps were added to the left receiver. However, the original military proofs were never removed from the right receiver. Hence, this Luger has both Imperial Army stamps on the right receiver and modern (fake) Navy stamps on its left receiver.
What is interesting about this Luger is that it has a recent provenance. Is the current owner willing to supply information on the source of the original donor Imperial Army Luger, who added the new 6 inch barrel, the new reproduction Navy rear sight, and (most important) who added the fake Navy proofs, acceptance stamps, and the 1917 dates.
The addition of a new barrel and rear sight to an Imperial military Luger to make a shooter is understandable. However, the addition of fake Navy proofs and 1917 dates is a different matter.
Jan
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